Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is a federation of ten provinces and three territories. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that a province is a creation of the Constitution Act, while a territory is created by federal law. Thus, the federal government has more direct control over the territories, while provincial governments have many more competences and rights.

Related Topics:
Canada - Federation - Constitution Act

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Provinces have a great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over health care, education, welfare, transportation (intra-provincial), and the like. They receive "transfer payments" from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes. The federal government, with its greater powers to tax and spend, can use these transfer payments to influence these provincial areas. For instance in order to receive health care funding under medicare, provinces must agree to meet certain federal mandates, such as universal access to required medical treatment.

Related Topics:
Education - Welfare - Tax - Medicare

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers in late 2004 by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status 'eventually'. He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the need to assert sovereignty in the Arctic, particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/22/provinces041122.html

Related Topics:
Prime Minister - Paul Martin - 2004 - Sovereignty - Global warming

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Provincial and territorial legislatures are unicameral, having no second chamber equivalent to the Canadian Senate. Originally a few provinces did have such bodies, known as legislative councils, but these were subsequently abolished, Quebec's being the last in 1968. In most provinces, the single house of the legislature is known as the Legislative Assembly except in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where it is called the House of Assembly, and Quebec where it is called the National Assembly. Ontario has a Legislative Assembly but its members are called Members of the Provincial Parliament or MPPs. The legislative assemblies use a procedure similar to that of the Canadian House of Commons. The head of government of each province, called the premier, is generally the head of the party with the most seats. This is also the case in Yukon, but the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no political parties at the territorial level. The Queen's representative to each province is the lieutenant governor (or lieutenant-governor). Each of the territories has a commissioner in the place of a lieutenant-governor. These terminological differences are summarized below.

Related Topics:
Unicameral - Canadian Senate - Legislative council - 1968 - Legislative Assembly - House of Assembly - National Assembly - Canadian House of Commons - Lieutenant governor - Territories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~