UBC POLI 101 Canadian Politics The Development of Canada What is the Canadian Political Community? http://www.politics.ubc.ca/fcutler/teaching/POLI101

Context: Size, Population, Geography Canada is BIG: but why does it matter? Diverse regional communities with regional attachments regional patterns of settlement by different groups Canada is BIG in the sense that it is DIVERSE Understanding of other regions limited by distance Economy is regionalized so policy has regional effects Canada is small: but why does it matter? USA next door, 10X our population Only ½% of world pop. (1 in 200 people are Canadian!) Much ‘uninhabited’ land, controversy over use Canada is medium-sized: but why does it matter? Some economies of scale, but not as much as USA Economy – price-takers and trade-takers  dependency Foreign policy – we have to ‘fit in’, play ‘honest broker’ Immigration – obligation(?) to accept immigration?

Indigenous Peoples, European Settlement Before European contact, over 50 distinct cultures/languages with well-defined territory. The result of gradual movement from Asia between 20,000 and 1,500 years ago. Early contact was genuinely between nations, but European values denigrated indigenous, non-Christian cultures. British Royal Proclamation (1763) recognized land rights First French, then English settlement pushed westward. Displacement of aboriginal peoples became extensive in the early 1800s. Massive depopulation, mainly through disease: aboriginal population fell from 500,000 to 140,000 Very uneven coverage of treaties between the Cdn Gov’t and Indian Nations. Most negotiated unfairly.

Quebec Act (1774), Constitutional Act (1791), 4/5 Colonies Quebec Act solidified the French presence in Canada – recognized civil law, Catholic church, signeurial landholding But NO representative assembly, unlike other colonies 1791, two colonies: Upper & Lower Canada Representative Assemblies, but no power NO RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI separate colonies Influx of Loyalists from American colonies 1837 rebellions against lack of responsible, popular gov’t Lord Durham’s Report (1838): Assimilation of French population Re-unification of the Canadas – one assembly Responsible government (came slowly – 1848)

Political Reasons: Union of Canadas = stalemate: Confederation - Why Economic Reasons: Britain cancelled preferential access and Americans cancelled reciprocity (free trade), so a need for an ‘intercolonial’ market and therefore an intercolonial railway Political Reasons: Union of Canadas = stalemate: Two parties: reformers and conservatives Two groups: French and English (Lower & Upper) Military Reasons: Threat of US annexation after US civil war Worry about western border (BC gold rush) Britain didn’t have money to defend Canada

British North America (BNA) Act (1867) Confederation - What British North America (BNA) Act (1867) Canada West (Ont.), Canada East (Quebec), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (PEI & NF rejected it) Defined governmental structures: “with a Constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom” House of Commons & Senate Judicial system (courts) “Peace, Order, and Good Government” (POGG) Powers of taxation Elections and qualifications of citizenship BUT… Federal arrangement: national & provincial gov’ts

That was then, this is now… What is political culture? Why is it important? Political culture is the sum of all values, beliefs, attitudes, and orientations of a society It is more than “public opinion” The frame that constrains political discourse and action The norms and mores of the society It is what is understood as the values of a society produced through the interaction between political parties, the mass media, civil society, and mass opinion, mediated by a community’s history & self-understanding Assumptions, often unconscious, that guide political life It is enduring, stable and cross-generational It does help us explain national differences And it helps us predict broad patterns of political outcomes HOW DOES IT AFFECT OUR POSITION ON KYOTO? PROVINCIAL POSITIONS? Pol Culture changes through replacement, conversion, new experiences

Canadian Political Culture: Historical Basis Counter-revolutionary society Anti-democratic/ anti-populist / elitist Economically dependent (UK, then US) Reliant on collective provision of well-being: a “Tory Touch” National projects important to national political & economic development No “one unified national and cultural tradition” –French/English divide etc. Patterns of settlement: French Catholics to Quebec United Empire Loyalists coming north from American Revolution Americans in Alberta working class Brits (to Manit and Sask) with roots in Labour Southern/Eastern European immigration to Prairies then cities Later immigration from Caribbean, East Asia, South Asia mostly to big cities Is any of this still relevant? Differences from the USA due to history?

Canadian Political Culture and Value Change Evidence in Nevitte and Kanji from World Values Survey Canada’s Values have changed ‘Decline of Deference’ – more challenging of authority media and public expect more information – justification of means wider range of goals/values from new roles/experiences greater acceptance of group politics / and from more diverse groups Rising Democratic Expectations – expecting more from authority governments more open – transparency in public service change in instruments of democracy – direct democracy? Social Permissiveness – increasing liberalism / libertarianism liberalizing platforms – shift ‘left’ on social issues (abortion, no intolerant appeals, broader appeals, divorce) Cosmopolitanism – becoming ‘global citizens’ less self/national-interest in foreign policyl support for multilateralism? independent foreign policy? anti-protectionism? Increasing Tolerance / Acceptance of Diversity programs to reduce intolerance? diversity in representation? Acceptance of limited government / market solutions / meritocracy privatization = efficiency , less government global economic liberalization – less acceptance of protectionism less redistribution? lower support for unions? privatization?

Important Facts - Immigration

Employment in Canada