The Territories and the Municipalities in the Politics of Nation-Building in Canada

The politics of nation-building in Canada is mostly the responsibility of the federal government. The Constitution Act of 1867 granted the federal government the power to conduct nation-building, is in force even nowadays, and establishes the clear dominance of federal decisions concerning nation-building over all other levels of government.

However, at the present period of time, it is clear that provincial and municipal infrastructures are decaying and play a much smaller role in the formation of nation-building policies. It is clear from the fact that 80 of Canadian citizens live in cities nowadays, which affects the distribution of resources considerably. As for municipalities, they also play a significant role in nation-building nowadays:

“Under section 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the provinces were granted full responsibility for municipal institutions. Thus, local governments remained… “puppets on a shoestring”

Every province contributes to the overall welfare of Canada; depending on the geographical position and availability of natural resources, each of them plays a distinct role in the economy of the country. Though cities are now the dominant areas of human activity, rural areas are also significant in terms of gross domestic product production. For example, British Columbia offers many products for the Canadian economy, exporting fish and pulp, etc.

Cities surely contribute much more to the process of nation-building because of the much higher availability of resources, proximity to informational facilities, etc. Canada should be a federal state because only this form of government can help the central government and provincial governments achieve consensus on all guiding political issues. It goes without saying that all Canadian provinces are unique and varied, and all of them seek a great extent of autonomy. Nonetheless, they are too small and dependent to become separate states.

Consequently, being a federal state is a good alternative for Canada giving its provinces relative advantages and autonomy and helping retain the power in the hands of the federal government at the same time. As for cities, one will surely state that the future of a country without the promotion of city development is gloomy; having no developed, prosperous cities, the country may remain a rural, agricultural area for a long time. Canada has a huge potential in this respect, so it needs to use it to achieve long-term strategic development objectives.