19th Century Division of Powers, 21st Century Problems: Understanding Canadian Intergovernmental Relations

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Intergovernmental relations (IGR) - or the interactions of federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) authorities - are what keeps the Canadian federation rolling. ... While IGR is critically important, this world has generally remained shrouded from the view of Canadians. ... Furthermore, it is not even clear the extent to which Canadians are even interested in IGR. When FPT relations are reported in the news, more often than not Canadians hear their elected officials complaining about broken promises, insufficient funds, or ineffective programs that fail to meet the goals of an intergovernmental initiative. Perhaps disinterest is the best approach. This paper answers three questions: 1. Why should Canadians care about intergovernmental relations? 2. Why are intergovernmental relations often fraught with conflict? 3. What can we do to make intergovernmental relations run more smoothly?--$cIntroduction.