Canadian Federalism

In retrospect, 1988 may turn out to be a pivotal year in the evolution of Canadian federalism. The November general election was dominated by an intense national debate over the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Although the Free Trade Agreement was seen to have important ramifications for Canadian federalism, coherent discussion of those ramifications became blurred in the face of a much broader and emotionally partisan debate. Concerns about the nature of Canadian federalism were instead absorbed by, and in part displaced by, an emerging national debate on the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord. The Accord had been reached by the eleven first ministers in 1987, but by the end of 1988 it had yet to receive legislative ratification in Manitoba and New Brunswick. In the aftermath of the 1988 election, debates over free trade and the Accord have become progressively entangled. While this entanglement did not alter the outcome of the free trade debate, it has had important consequences for the Meech Lake Accord, and thus for the future of Canadian federalism

Economics · Federalism · Free trade · International trade · Legislature · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Ratification · Sociology · Canadian Identity and History · Canadian Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance

• Federalism and ethnic self‐determination

  J Anthony Long•The Journal of Commonwealth &…•1991

  Add to list

• Canada

  Open Access•Ronald L Watts•International Political Science…•1996

  Add to list