A Federal State

There are federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments in Canada. The responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments were defined in 1867 in the British North America Act, now known as the Constitution Act, 1867.

In our federal state, the federal government takes responsibility for matters of national and international concern. These include defence, foreign policy, interprovincial trade and communications, currency, navigation, criminal law and citizenship. The provinces are responsible for municipal government, education, health, natural resources, property and civil rights, and highways. The federal government and the provinces share jurisdiction over agriculture and immigration. Federalism allows different provinces to adopt policies tailored to their own populations, and gives provinces the flexibility to experiment with new ideas and policies.

Every province has its own elected Legislative Assembly, like the House of Commons in Ottawa. The three northern territories, which have small populations, do not have the status of provinces, but their governments and assemblies carry out many of the same functions.