Canadian Regionalism in the Twenty First Century
Introduction
Canada is a nation that is divided into entities with regard to issues of provincialism and regionalism. Canadians did not trust their federal government, hence the need for governments in every region or province. Regionalism developed quite early in the Canadian history and has been kept a live since then. Regionalism has prominent effects on the political system of the country. Regional entities in Canada are based on varying traditional lifestyles, economic interests and geographical characteristics. The transformation of the old Canadian regionalism to new regionalism was due to inhabitants’ discontent (Conrad, 2006). Discontent came about from the uneven distribution of Canadian resources among the provinces. Canadian regionalism in the twenty first century was developed in replacement of the old regionalism which was not implementable politically. Provincial legislatures have imposed institutional reforms for the Canadian cities. The old Canadian regionalism is rather familiar to most Americans, for instance, the direct mayor elects, differing legal regimes in the many states, several special- purpose entities, non- partisan elections and reliability on property tax (Sancton, 2001). The local government system in Canada is much similar to that in the United States, with a tiny difference being when attaining local consent.Canadian regionalism is the vitality of Canadian differences that forms an essential component of improved economy and politics in the nation.
The new regionalism in Canada involved the provincial officials paying attention to municipal organizations found in the metropolitan regions. The high water mark for implementing new regionalism in Canada started in January 1996. At this time, the task force at the Greater Toronto area (GTA) released the report (Harris, 2012). The task force was to overhaul the local government structure in Toronto, and the property tax system it was using at that time. The report was to restore the economy of the region and influence the government policies that were applicable there. The new regionalism in Canada introduced a governance structure having the power to resolve all the differences among various municipalities. The regionalism also addressed issues of economic development and resource conservation. Ultimately the twenty first century Canadian regionalism encouraged proper and quality use of land and promoted cost- effective growth in the entire region (Brenner, 2002).
The Canadian regionalism strength is evident in the Western and Atlantic provinces because of their extensive history in interregional collaborations. They also possess strong institutional foundation that acts to support networking in the regions. Atlantic revolution came at a time when Canada needed intervention, and it helped in securing several policy breakthroughs. The revolution helped in equalizing formulas and regional granting entities. The new regionalism has also seen the implementation of interprovincial cooperation, where several issues like education, transportation and procurement are shared. The Western provinces, on the other hand, have been highly successful than the Atlantic provinces in implementing the new regionalism concepts (Sancton, 2005). Before, these provinces had difficulties with issues on tariffs, western alienation and ownership of resources. However, the new regionalism has seen these provinces engage in interregional economic cooperation.
The socio- economic leaders in Canadian regions consider their municipal and provincial governments to be responsible for looking after the cities. This matter is evident in almost all regions of Canada, apart from Toronto where the elites engage in provincial governance. Regional decision making is quite clear in Canada thus; decision making institutions are easily established; since there is no need for involvement of various economic forces (Sancton, 2001). During the time when the Canadian government was trying to assume a large role in the Canadian life, most provinces consolidated their regional sentiments leading to evolution of Canadian economy. The provincial governments have engaged significantly in the growing Canadian economy and feeling. Political consolidation is, however, more obvious in Quebec than in other regions.
Regionalism has established both a fundamental way of seeing and inferring Canada and it is a complex evolving cultural course founded out of complex historical dynamics. The ideology of the region in Canada is politically ignited, supporting some identity markers but disregarding others. Regions, thus regionalism also keep on evolving because the historical powers, for example, the systems of social class and identity politics, which enabled regional identities into existent, are far from fixed (Conrad, 2006). Canadian community and culture keep on changing due to forces of minority rights movements, immigrants and that of the world economic processes. There is no way to make a firm and wild determination because the future is unfamiliar, however; there is some reality to propose that the foundation of regional identity in Canada can be altered with time ( Harris, 2012). For instance, the shifting parameters of Ontario political-economic status in Canada can cause change in regional identities due to the construction of brand new regionalized political-economic dealings. The complete integration of Canada into regional political economy is bound to alter Ontario’s whole principle position as the center of Canada. This process is likely to be affected by the ever-changing demographic parameters in Canada. The parameters have made older conception of Ontario as the center of a British Loyalist heritage culture is highly problematic. To be sure, such a course cannot be defined in explicit terms: predisposition, ethnic marginalization, and other forms of discernment will continue to exist
Working in proximity with processes of political-economic change and demographic shift is the advancement of activist political stances for the relegated groups. It is imperative to note that political activism on the part of sidelined groups represents a declaration of historical agency; it is not simply facilitated by political-economic alterations. This activism engaged two inter-related advances; a will to confront the basic dynamics of marginalization, and an increased willpower on the part of marginalized communities to express their own identity (Sancton, 2001). This willpower is considered a fundamental task in conceptualizing the entire Canada and its regional identity since it highlights the inequality of identity in Canada and its non-inclusive character.
Finally, broader cultural variations brought by the formation of what is often called post-modern culture can de-stabilize Canadian identities. On the other, it reveals the constructed character of Canadian regional identity in habits that allow an evaluation of its power relations (Conrad, 2006). Whereas the entire logic of new regionalism culture may not be favorable to an open-minded involvement with the identity politics, a more restricted variant can clearly useful. Such a method of examining regional identity could focus, on the intertwining economic, class, discursive and ethnic politics that contributed to the development of regional identities (Sancton, 2005). This evaluation does not, by itself, occasion liberal political developments, but it could work to promote alternative conceptions of region using essential policy orientations.
References
Brenner, N. (2002). Decoding the Newest Metropolitan Regionalism in the USA: A Critical Overview, Cities, 19 (1):3- 21.
Conrad, M. (2006).Regionalism in a Flat World, Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region; 35:2
Harris, C. R. (2012). Regionalism: The Canada Encyclopedia, Retrieved 27 January2012, from <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/regionalism#ArticleContents>
Sancton, A. (2005). The Governance of Metropolitan Areas in Canada.Public Admin. Dev. 25: 317- 327
Sancton, A. (2001). Canadian Cities and the New Regionalism, Journal of Urban Affairs, 23 (5) :543- 555.
