Federal policy ideas and involvement in Canadian urban transit, 2002‐2017

Although provincial and local governments bear primary responsibility for urban transit projects and operations in Canada, the Government of Canada engages intermittently in this policy field, mainly through research and short‐term funding programs. This article analyzes federal policy concerning urban transit over the period 2002‐2017, with a substantive focus on policy ideas—the cognitive and normative concepts that provide direction for, and shape the perceived legitimacy of, policy choices. Through a thematic content analysis of policy documents, this article explicates the paradigms, programmatic foci, frames and public sentiments that have underpinned federal urban transit policy over this 15‐year period.     

Comparing employment policy governance regimes in Canada and the European Union

This article assesses the performance of Canada's employment policy governance regime post‐1996 by explicitly comparing Canadian approaches to those used in the European Union (EU) through the open method of coordination (OMC). It concludes that Canada has moved so far along the decentralization continuum — with 13 provincial systems as well as a federal‐only system in place — that coordination, coherence, mutual learning and information sharing on a pan‐Canadian basis have been lost. While EU OMC approaches hold promise, to be realized stakeholders would need to become more engaged in the policy domain and provinces, rather than the federal government, must take the initiative for enhanced coordination.     

Technocracy or transformation? Mapping women's policy agencies and orienting gender (in)equality in the Canadian provinces

Canadian gender equality policy has taken a “technocratic turn” that favours bureaucratic expertise to monitor and measure (in)equality rather than participatory and consultative mechanisms. While the processes and impacts of this shift are well documented at the federal level, less is known at the provincial level. This article takes stock of provincial gender equality mechanisms, demonstrating variations in women's policy agencies (WPAs) across the ten provinces. It then links these variations to the discursive politics of gender equality within each province. We demonstrate that the potential for transformative orientations of gender equality emerges in WPAs with broad consultative mechanisms.     

Understanding third‐party advertising: An analysis of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Canadian elections

For approximately two decades, the federal regulation for third‐party election spending was the focus of repeated constitutional debate. However, with the 2004 Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Canada, a relative level of policy stability has been established. This stability permits us to evaluate the performance of spending limits according to the principles of the egalitarian model on which it is based. Using an original data set compiled from third‐party election advertising reports from the 2004, 2006 and 2008 federal elections, this article offers the first empirical analysis of this important election policy. A number of observations can be offered. First, third parties are not spending large amounts relative to spending limits. Second, despite legislative changes in 2006 banning all federal party contributions except those from individuals, there appears little strategic action by third parties in spending “around” contribution limits. During this three‐election cycle, third parties quite simply did not spend significant amounts. Current third‐party spending limits therefore appear to be situated comfortably within the expectations of the egalitarian model, though why third parties of all types spend so little remains in question.     

Multilevel policy from the municipal perspective: A pan‐Canadian survey

Building on in‐depth case studies and extensive theory‐building by Canadian multilevel governance scholars, this article identifies and describes multilevel policy involvement by federal, provincial, municipal, private, and NGO actors in three policy phases and eighteen policy domains that specifically involve local governments in Canada. Drawing from an original pan‐Canadian survey of municipal mayors and councillors, we show that municipal politicians see multilevel policy involvement as remarkably prevalent across many policy domains. Using an original measure of multilevel policy involvement, we identify the policy domains in which policy involvement is most concentrated or fragmented and then describe the correlates of this measure. Multilevel policy involvement, we argue, is more clearly associated with policy phase and policy domain than with municipal population or region. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future research.     

Evidence and equity: Struggles over federal employment equity policy in Canada, 1984–95

Abstract: This article traces debates about federal employment equity policy in Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, focusing specifically on the role of data and statistics in policy‐making. The authors interpret policy‐makers' extensive use of evidence‐based policy instruments in the implementation of employment equity as an attempt to offer a technical solution to the deeply politicized problem of workplace discrimination. By exploring policy debates from the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment (the Abella Commission) (1984) to the passage of the reformed Employment Equity Act in 1995, the authors show how recourse to evidence‐based deliberation failed to contain political conflict, because the meaning and use of statistical data became the object of political struggle among the main policy stakeholders. The article concludes by considering the implications of this case study for the broader comparative debate on the role of evidence‐based methods in policy‐making.     

Cannabis policy diffusion in Ontario and New Brunswick: Coercion,learning, and replication

This article integrates Hall’s (1993) social learning framework, as well as more recent contributions, into the literature on policy diffusion to better identify the goals, instruments, and precise settings for recreational cannabis policy in New Brunswick and Ontario. We analyze committee hearings, Hansard debates, and government reports and find that policy diffused via three mechanisms: coercion due to the federal criminal law power, learning from Washington and Colorado, and replication of analogous provincial policies concerning tobacco and alcohol. We also find the non‐binding federal Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation had a considerable effect on the diffusion of goals, instruments, and settings.     

Comparing accountability relationships between governments and non‐state actors in Canadian and European international development policy

This article examines the alignment of different governance arrangements and alternative accountability mechanisms in international development policy making in Canada and the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on relationships between governments and non‐governmental organizations. The Canadian case illustrates an entrepreneurial mode of governance that aligns with fiscal auditing and performance management mechanisms, while the networked governance model of the EU relies more heavily on accountability instruments of public reporting and deliberation. The article concludes that the European accountability regime likely provides policy makers with more opportunities for social policy learning but would be difficult to implement in Canada given the underlying action logic of the federal government.     

The conundrum of absenteeism in the Canadian public service: A wicked problem perspective

Absenteeism has received increasing attention in public sectors across the world. In Canada's federal public service, absenteeism cost the government approximately $871 million in lost wages in 2013 alone (Barkel 2014a ). Current and previous Canadian governments have attempted to reform sick‐leave policy to reduce absenteeism, but simple solutions to a complex problem will likely result in negative and unforeseen consequences. This article conceptualizes absenteeism as a “wicked problem” to explore its complexity. Addressing absenteeism requires a deeper understanding of issues and factors by government representatives, unions, NGOs, and policy experts, which can lead to multifaceted solutions.     

The federal government's banks: Financial services and public policy

Internationally, interest in and research on state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) have increased significantly, particularly in the developing world, where they play a vital role in national economies. The evolution of Canadian SOEs is, for the most part, largely absent from this literature. This article analyzes and evaluates the performance of three SOEs in the financial sector owned and operated by the federal government: Export Development Canada (EDC), the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). The article seeks to evaluate the performance of these commercially oriented hybrid entities which are policy (and politically) sensitive to the needs of their single shareholder. There is evidence that these firms take on higher‐risk investments than their private sector counterparts, in addition to performing other politically significant policy roles. There is also evidence that, as publicly owned entities, they enjoy some significant advantages over other actors in the sector.     

Public health and collaborative governance

Abstract: The nature of governance in Canada, both horizontally (between federal departments) and vertically (between federal and provincial governments) is changing. Or is it? Two distinct trends seem to have emerged over the past decade: one towards horizontal coordination and one towards vertical collaboration. These trends are perhaps best exemplified by the Public Health Agency of Canada, which depends very emphatically on integrated relationships both with other federal departments and with provincial and territorial governments. Yet in the past year, severe criticisms have emerged regarding the agency's ability to meet its objectives. To what extent are these problems due to the failure of collaborative governance? On a wider level, have decision-makers been too insouciant about making importunate public policy decisions on an assumption of the viability of collaborative governance? This article argues that problems in vertical collaboration in public health have occurred largely due to failures in horizontal coordination within the national government.     

Intergovernmental relations,social policy and federal transfers after Romanow

Abstract: This article explores the new and old intergovernmental dynamics around federal transfers to the provinces for health and social policy spending in the aftermath of the Romanow report and the decision to split the Canada Health and Social Transfer (chst) into its two component parts. Though the provinces have agreed to the split, the federal government undertook the allocation of the transfer to the new Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer unilaterally. At the same time, the federal government has simultaneously been increasing its own social spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction in recent years. In response, the provinces have been taking an increasingly hard line towards Ottawa's unilateral actions, as demonstrated by the creation of the Council of the Federation and its focus on the so‐called fiscal imbalance in the federation. These dynamics make the intergovernmental commitment to collaborative federalism ring somewhat hollow. The article argues that the inability of both orders of government to take collaborative federalism and policy interdependence seriously poses significant threats not only to the health of the federation but also to efforts to create healthy public policy. Sommaire: Le présent article porte sur les nouvelles et anciennes dynamiques inter‐gouvemementales concernant les transferts accordés par le fédéral aux provinces pour le financement des politiques sociales et de santé, qui ont découlé du Rapport Romanow et de la décision de scinder le Transfert canadien en matiè‐e de santé et de programmes sociaux (TCSPS) en deux composantes distinctes. Quoique les provinces aient accepté la scission, le gouvernement fédéral a entrepris de procéder unilatérale‐ment à l'affectation des paiements aux nouveaux Transfert canadien en matière de santé et Transfert canadien en matière de programmes sociaux. Simultanément, ces dernières années, le gouvernement fédéral a accru ses propres dépenses sociales dans des domaines de juridiction provinciale. Face à cela, les provinces ont adopté une position de plus en plus intransigeante à l'egard des initiatives unilatéralcs d'Ottawa comme le démontrent la céeation du Conseil de la fédération et sa concentration sur le soi‐disant déséquilibre financier au sein de la fédération. Cette dynarnique fait que l'engagement intergouvernemental envers le fédéralisme de collaboration sonne plutôt vide. L'article soutient que L'inaptitude des deux ordres de gouverncment a prendre au serieux le fédéralisme de collaboration et L'interdépendance politique représente une forte menace, non seulement pour la santé de la fédération, mais aussi pour les efforts visant à créer un politique publique saine.     

Assessing policy capacity in Canada's public services: Perspectives of deputy and assistant deputy ministers

Abstract: The state of policy capacity within Canada's various levels of government has for some time been the subject of discussion both within the public services themselves and among the academic research community. Drawing on the results of a 2006 survey of deputy and assistant deputy ministers working in Canada's federal, ten provincial and three territorial governments, this article presents assessments made by the most senior leadership. The survey results show that ninety per cent of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers agree that policy capacity has changed but that the change is not uni‐directional. Both improvements and decline in policy capacity were observed, although assessments of decline were somewhat more pronounced. Moreover, improvements in policy capacity were found to be associated with a reduced focus on direct service delivery, a greater concern with long‐term planning, and the presence of a political leadership interested in innovation. Conversely, declining policy capacity was found to be linked to centralization of power, the loss of institutional memory, and “churning” within the ranks of the executive leadership. Additionally, level of government was also observed to be linked with change in policy capacity, with provincial deputies reflecting more negatively on policy capacity decline in their government than deputies at other levels.     

Appraising Canada's 1979 Indian Health Policy: Informing co-development of distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation

Aiming to improve the health of First Nations in 1979, the federal government implemented the Indian Health Policy to strengthen community development and the relationship with First Nations peoples, and nurture a trilateral relationship in the healthcare landscape. The Indian Health Policy remains the foundation for First Nations health policy and program development today, even without ever having an implementation plan. We critically appraise the Indian Health Policy to identify gaps and evaluate its impact and progress on subsequent policy evaluations, developments, and recent events in light of the new distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation underway. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations to inform the federal government's efforts to co-develop distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation.     

Harmonization through emulation: Canadian federalism and water export policy

Abstract: This article explores the challenges of policy harmonization in a decentralized federal polity through a study of Canadian efforts to develop nationwide water export regulations over the past fifteen years. The Canadian experience in water export policy illustrates three different policy harmonization processes and suggests some of the effects that international free trade agreements have had on economic and environmental regulation in Canada. Prior to the introduction of free trade, the federal government attempted to deal with water exports through the imposition of uniform national standards. After free trade, however, harmonization efforts became more decentralized as federal power over export controls diminished but provincial powers over water‐taking remained untouched. Despite an effort towards harmonization through policy interface standardization in the 1999 Water Accord, successful harmonization did not occur as a result of intergovernmental cooperation. Instead, harmonization was eventually achieved through an extensive process of policy emulation, a phenomenon that has received relatively little attention in the literature on federalism and public policy, to this point. Sommaire: Le présent article examine les défis de I'harmonisation des politiques dans un système fédéral déentralisé, en étudiant les efforts canadiens déployés pour éla‐borer des règlements sur I'exportation de l'eau à I'échelle nationale au cows des quinze derniéres années. L'expérience canadienne dans le domaine de la politique de l'exportation de l'eau illustre trois différents processus d'harmonisation des politiques et préente certains impacts produits par les accords de libre‐échange internationaux sur la délementation économique et environnementale au Canada. Avant I'introduction du libre‐échange, le gouvemement fédéral essayait de traiter l'exportation de I'eau en imposant des normes nationales uniformes. Depuis le libre‐échange, cependant, les efforts d'harmonisation sont devenus plus dCcentralisés, tan‐dis que le pouvoir fédéral sur les contrôles des exportations a diminue et que les pouvoirs provinciaux dans ce domaine sont demeurés inchangés. Malgré un effort réalisé dam le sens de I'harmonisation de l'interface politique avec 1'Accord sur I'eau de 1999, la coopération intergouvemementale n'a pas menéà l'harmonisation. Par contre, on y est parvenu par le biais d'un vaste processus d'émulation politique, phénoméne qui jusqu'à ce jour est passé pratiquement inapercu dans la documentation sur le fédéralisme et la politique publique.     

Undoing a co-operative bargain: The origins and dissolution of federal accommodation of provincial credit unions

The failure of several U.S. regional banks early in 2023 underlined Canada's reputation as home to a resilient banking sector where federal policymakers guard their jurisdictional responsibility over banking against populist impulses and trade off competition for financial stability. This article argues that conventional explanations for this observed stability are incomplete because they omit any discussion of federal policies that shaped the growth of a $550 billion provincially based credit union system. This article reconciles the resulting puzzle by showing how policymakers accommodated credit unions and used them to channel populist impulses but within the bounds of over-arching financial stability concerns.     

Parent child coalitions: Innovative public‐sector management and early childhood development in Manitoba

Abstract: This article considers a coalition model of governance as an innovative approach to public management. In general, the coalition governance model adopts key principles of new public management and inherits criticisms similar to those levelled against the new managerialism. Looking at a case study of parent child coalitions in Manitoba, this article explores some benefits and consequences of implementing and utilizing coalition governance as a model for social policy. It finds that the attempt to increase child‐centred programming across the province required innovative adjustments to the management of this social policy issue, as well as a restructuring of the overarching policy structure. Innovative public management and the implementation of a coalition governance approach helped transform early childhood development in Manitoba from a private and personal family concern to a public policy issue. It has increased citizen engagement and has also increased government access to a previously inaccessible segment of society. Although these innovations resolved some key concerns, additional criticisms remain as yet unaddressed.     

Treaty federalism as a model of policy making: Comparing Canada and the European Union

Systematic analyses of Canada and the EU as comparable federal systems have been neglected for a variety of methodological reasons. Most importantly, neither body fits the mould of the dominant model of the American federal state. A revised conceptual framework can show, however, that Canada and the EU both provide a similar institutional and procedural environment for policy making: powers are shared rather than divided; policy directions are determined by executive negotiation rather than parliamentary deliberation; unanimity takes precedence over majority rule; and inter‐regional competition is moderated by a commitment to equalization.     

Cities and places in provincial policy agendas

This article uses a new dataset of coded Alberta Throne Speeches from 1906 to 2017 to identify patterns of provincial policy attention to place and urban place across policy issues and time. We discuss three main findings. First, provincial attention to place and urban place is influenced by policy domain: place‐based attention is generally absent in some policy domains, such as macroeconomic policy, and prevalent in others, such as health care. Second, place‐based attention is patterned over time, with a noticeable peak in the post‐war “province‐building” years and distinct troughs in other periods. Finally, we discuss the related but distinct patterns of attention to place and urban place across policy domains and time.