The Impact of Federalism on the Organization of Canadian Foreign Policy

Abstract

The international activities of Canadian provinces—mainly Albert, British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec—challenge conventional concepts of sovereignty and the federal view of a national monopoly in foreign policy. These provincial activities have become more important since the early 1970s and have yielded outcomes in the field of foreign policy that would not have occurred otherwise. Provinces engage in international activities for a number of reasons. They have the capacity, jurisdictional obligation, and political desire to do so. Economic necessity, especially the international economic environment, is important motivation. Both conflict and cooperation with Ottawa also encourage provincial involvements in international activities. Occasionally, foreign governments invite such activity as well. Present trends coupled with the constitutional division of responsibilities in Canada suggest that territorial transgovernmentalism will have greater consequences for Canadian foreign policy, thereby giving to Canada's international presence a character similar to the complexities and contradictions of the country's domestic mosaic.