Canadian federalism, as a particular form of political organization for a complex society—with multiple economic, political, geographic, cultural, and national divides—faces important challenges. The political realignment that brought the Conservative Party to power in the last quinquennium has set in motion a significant transformation of the Canadian state and its federal system of governance.
The contributors in this collection focus on three recurrent themes: the issues arising from the management of ethno-cultural diversity; the existence of internal nations in Canada (the First Nations and the Quebec nation in Quebec), the presence of linguistic minorities (French and English), and the questions of identity linked to citizenship in a federal context that allows for the presence of multiple loyalties; and the specific challenges raised by globalization and the extension of economic integration, particularly between the United States and Canada.
This collection of studies on the role of the state reveals that our understanding of the evolution of the Canadian state, and of the ensuing impact on federalism and federal-provincial relations, is not as complete as it should be.

Michael D. Behiels is a professor of history and University Research Chair: Canadian Federalism and Constitutional Studies at the University of Ottawa.

Michael Behiels' profile page

François Rocher is Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa. He has held a similar position at Carleton University, where he was also director of the School of Canadian Studies. He is the co-editor, with Miriam Smith, of New Trends in Canadian Federalism (University of Toronto Press, 2003) and has extensively published on constitutional politics, intergovernmental relations, immigration, and citizenship in Canada.

François Rocher's profile page

Robert Talbot's profile page

Thomas O. Hueglin grew up in Germany and moved to Canada in 1983. He is a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University. His most recent book publications are Comparative Federalism and Classical Debates for the Twenty-first Century: Rethinking Political Thought. He lives in New Dundee, Ontario.

Thomas O. Hueglin's profile page

Jeremy A. Clarke's profile page

Daniel Bourgeois is executive director, Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policy and Public Administration.

Daniel Bourgeois' profile page

Patrick Fafard's profile page

Andrew Bourns' profile page

Peter Graefe is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at McMaster University.

Peter Graefe's profile page

Raffaele Iacovino is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and a research associate in the Department of Political Science at l'Université ô Montréal.

Raffaele Iacovino's profile page

Geneviève Nootens' profile page

Geoffrey Hale is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Lethbridge. As an academic but also as a civil servant and business association representative, he has spent much of the past twenty years dealing with tax and budgetary systems and their impact on various aspects of Canada's economy and society.

Geoffrey Hale's profile page

France Morrissette's profile page

Brooke Jeffrey, a former senior public servant and policy adviser to Liberal Party leaders, is professor of political science at Concordia University.

Brooke Jeffrey's profile page