Overview

Federalism blends self-rule and shared rule, enabling diverse communities to govern themselves while cooperating on national challenges. In Canada, enduring Quebec–Rest of Canada and western alienation tensions, plus Indigenous reconciliation, heighten the need to rebalance autonomy and collaboration—through intergovernmental reform or Senate change—to sustain unity-in-diversity within a resilient, inclusive federation.

At least four contemporary sets of issues demand an appropriate calibration of self-rule and shared rule in Canadian federalism: safeguarding unity amid Quebec secessionism, Alberta sovereignty talk, and Indigenous reconciliation; rethinking fiscal federalism, transfers, and equalization; effectively coordinating responses to cross-jurisdictional challenges like climate and technology; and presenting a coherent external voice—especially with the United States—without erasing internal diversity.

Meet The Speakers