Canadian Provincial Political Cultures

Canadian eclogue organizational CulturesCanadian semi governmental civilisation is multi-layered and diverse. Three great countries see influenced the phylogeny of this nuance The join States, The Great Britain and France. Thus, when it comes to Canada, it can not be studied in isolation from the rest of northward America and Europe. Even though the expansion of North America was just a phase in extending the political and heathen dominance of the European superpowers, nonetheless, it helped to establish a course of frugal swap in Canada. During the last two hundred years, Canadian political refining has been shaped by five distinct waves of immigration alone of which require left their own economic and cultural marks on the absolute country (Easterbrook and Aitken, 1988 3).The formation of Canada economically, culturally and politically is best described by Louise Hartzs fragment theory who argues that colonial societies, those like Canada, originated as fragment s of larger European societies and that those societies remained marked during their history by the conditions of their origins. The word fragment implies that those new societies would not be the complete replicas of their p bent ones notwithstanding they would earlier consist of the move of those pargonnt societies represented by those who decided to emigrate (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 68). Further, the disc everywherey of strategical natural resources in Canada like crude oil, gas, gold and separates, created a dependency theory which is truly unique to the country staples theory of economic growth. Harold Innis, the originator of the theory, argued that the development of Canada consisted of the series of dependencies upon the natural recourses fur, fish, timber, minerals and differents, all of which, in turn, run through dominated the saving of the country and were the primary export products at a duration (Marchak, 1983 21).The Mari fourth dimensionsThe societ ies of Nova Scotia, untried Brunswick and Prince Edward Island vary in the rates of development significantly. This region could be considered as the near traditional and merelytoned-down in Canadian political accessibleisation as a whole. The Mari beats are a rare example of how customs, traditions and beliefs are favoured over innovation and change. After the formation of responsible disposal in the 19th century, there were only marginal changes in practices and procedures of politics (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 10-11). front settlers were immigrants who came directly from Britain Yorkshire, Ireland and Highland Scotland. The prize of relocating was worthy of a risk, the Maritimes offered something that Europe, settled and overpopulated, could not free land. Politically, Maritimes resembled their American neighbours rather than those back in Britain as the completed region remained under the firm sphere of influence of the New England. condescension that fact, Tory i deology in the region was strong before and after the American Revolution up until the third wave of immigration, when it was influenced greatly by the British self-aggrandizings the same wave that brought Sir John A. Macdonald to Canada. Civil War in the united States had forced the Maritimes to re-think the idea of union as it offered security and economic stableness (Dunn, 2006 17-18).Nova Scotia is the most advanced of all Atlantic nations in respect to complaisant, economic and political development. Halifax, Nova Scotias largest urban centre, has a higher rate of industrialization than other(a) areas in the region. When it comes to staffing the bureaucracy there is less usage of patronage and the decisions are made solely on the principle of merit (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 11). Religion comes as an integral part of the Maritimes political socialisation. in that respect are four political parties in the PEI Conservative, Liberal, Catholic and Protestant. For years , it has been considered to be a tough task to call in which party would take the upper hand during the elections. One thing was for authoritative though fixed comes of Catholics and Protestants would be elected every time regardless of which party would win the election (Dunn, 2006 18-19).The Maritimes political culture is partially frozen in the 19th century. Today, just like two centuries ago, the government is considered as a negative force in the economy and companionship something that is not to be trusted. To confirm this, professor S.D. Clark has noted that the fisherman of Nova Scotia were unsubdivided folk who had little understanding of the complexities of the economic, political and social world slightly them. Their problems seemed simple enough, made difficult only by the interferences of the government uttermost removed and beyond their reach. (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 16).NewfoundlandNewfoundland is a province that stands let on from all the others. Th e province suffers from the old scars in its history and competing visions from the previous governments and up until today it tries to demote a balance between integration and self-reliance. Rejecting the Confederation at send-off in 1867, which was a popular decision as home tower was favoured over industrial capitalism, the province accepted it in 1949 (Tomblin, 1995 67-68). Escaping the bankruptcy in the 1930s, Newfoundland asked for a direct British rule by surrendering its self-governing convention status gained previously by the Statute of Westminster. Unlike Canada, Newfoundland found itself automatically involved in World War II alongside Britain (Dunn, 2006 16). stick out war era, however, brought political change not only to Europe merely to Canada as well. Weakened by the war, Britain was in decline and could no long-lasting reward Newfoundland financially, as Valerie Summers noted In the post-World War II expiration of political adjustments and British dollar shortages, the interests of the British government in eliminating the toll of maintenance of Newfoundlands administration led to Newfoundlands movement out of the British bowl into Canadian jurisdiction (Tomblin, 1995 68).Newfoundland is quite distinct from the other provinces in its economic, social and cultural development. Being disjointed from Canada and the rest of North America for umteen years it was greatly influenced in its traditions by the joined Kingdom. Newfoundlanders were oriented toward the non-materialistic determine of West Country England and Ireland their parent communities (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 3-4).For centuries Newfoundlands economy was centered on seedpod fishing. The provinces state was mostly coarse composed of enclaves which were called outports. The majority of outporters lived in a semi-feudal relationship with the fish merchants called the truck system. To put it in a fewer words, the truck system was a barter system of economic rela tionship, which has eliminated the purpose of money from the outports completely. Since the confederation, the government began the program that encouraged vacation of the outports and moving their inhabitants to larger cities (Ibid. p.4).Another distinct feature of Newfoundland is its extreme nationalism and cultural duality. maculation Irish Catholic immigrants flocked to St. Johns and Avalon Peninsula, the position Protestants preferred north of the island and the outports (Dunn, 2006 15). This has created one of the most serious cleavages in the province split between the Irish and the side population. Newfoundland could be considered as rurally fundamental and only partially secularized beau monde where religion still plays an important role in day-to-day activities. It ashes much British than any other province in Canada (Bellamy, Pammett, Rowat, 1976 7-8).QuebecThe settlements in Canadas New France were emerging slowly in the early days of closure however, immigrant s began to move in higher numbers once the fur contend became one of the most important staples in the region. After the treaty of Utrecht, all french North American lands were transferred under the control of the British. French-speaking population resented such a change thinking that it would threaten their bureaus of life, their culture and language (Croats, 2002 18-19).Losing its North American lands, France remained far away in Europe, preoccupied with wars and matters in its remaining colonies Quebec appeared to be cut off from its parent country. The Catholic Church has served as a guardian of Quebecs values at that time and the Catholic clergy were seen as a New Frances societal leaders. Even though the British were officially in charge they guaranteed the continuation of Quebecs culture and traditions in return for loyalty to the Crown (Dunn, 2006 20).This partnership lasted for many generations up until 1960s, when the revive of unprecedented nationalism in Quebec re sulted due to collision of English easy ideas and conservative views of the French. With receding conservatism and rising liberal ideas in Quebec in 1960s, the province began its quest for national self-determination in a take off of worldwide decolonization. Fair to say, it was rather a chain reaction to events that were occurrence in a number of former French colonies at a time, particularly in Africa (Ibid. p. 22).The passing of Bill 101 in 1977 by the Quebecs National Assembly has been seen as a sign of relief to the French The Bill was the first solid document to ensure the permanence of their culture and language. The authors of the Bill sought to make French dominant in the province and to reverse the demographic trends which seemed to be working against them. Such a drastic change has impinge oned the English-speaking population of Quebec negatively even though there has been much resistance to the new laws by public services, mount media and labour movements the insti tutional discrimination in Quebec is still present at large (Clift and McLeod Arnopoulos, 1984 186, 201-2).Quebecs conservatism, liberalism and radicalism have been shaped by its unique nationalist mise en scene which, in a way, explains why its links with its English-Canadian counterparts has always been weak and unstable. culturally descending from the New France, Quebec is simply ideologically different than any other province in Canada (Dunn, 2006 23). The presence of cultural pluralism is painful for two English and French Canadians in the province, which is exactly why the French community is not likely to take any fundamental steps which would worsen the mail service even further (Clift and McLeod Arnopoulos, 1984 201).OntarioOntario differs from the other provinces in two major ways. maiden of all, with the population of almost twelve million people no other province comes close to it in terms of number of residents, diversity and sizing of its economy, accumulated weal th, its financial, corporate and media power concentrated in provinces large urban centres. Secondly, there are also significant differences in political culture due to Ontarios historical experiences, its economic interests, and evolution of its cultural, social and political institutions (White, 1997 49).Political culture of such an old and multilayered society as Ontario is far from existence a uniform construct. When small Ontario rural communities are taken as an example, it is arduous to find an Old Ontarian political pattern in perfect coexistence with others more of recent origin due to result of suburbanization, economic change and media influence. There are also distinct regional differences, most strikingly in Northern Ontario, and countless fissures of group rivalries and conflicting economic interests (Ibid, p.51).Ontarios founders were American counter-revolutionists, conservative liberals and Crown loyalists the supporters of strong executive government. Rejecting extreme liberalism, popular in the United States, refusing to separate religion and the state as it was done in the US, Ontarios fathers wanted a province that would not resemble their sulfurern neighbour in any way. Interestingly enough, it was in fact American liberalism that influenced Ontarios political culture great than others. Provinces policymaking officials have followed the examples of their American counterparts whether it was concerning education or structure of the government (Dunn, 2006 22).Ontario, fit(p) intimately close to Quebec, has been more sympathetic to its ambitions than any province rigid to the West furthermore, along with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, Ontarios legislature recognized Quebecs distinct character in the resolution passed on the day of Quebecs referendum of 1995. Unlike Eastern, western sandwich legislatures were not as eager to continue this trend (White, 1997 437).. Surprisingly, Ontarians, so divers e and fractioned, have always had a clear appreciation of their common interests and highly highly-developed ability for social cohesion undeniably complex, Ontarios political culture has been consistently sustained for over two hundred years (Ibid. p.51).The PrairiesJust over a century ago the prairies were archaic with little trace of family (Francis and Palmer, 1992 27). It was not until the 1890s when the prairie west realized that capitalism, individualism and private dimension were the part of the environment, like the river valleys and the plains (Friesen, 1987 242). With millions of square kilometres of land and millions of inhabitants the west represented gigantic economic and political interest to Old Canada. It was planned to create a new investment frontier and all hopes lied on the pioneer- resurrecter who would move to the West and initiate an economic take off. To encourage settlement Canadian government promised to build a transcontinental railway system to unite Canada form coast to coast (Ibid. p.162).Manitoba, the most sensitive to Quebec of all prairies, entered Confederation as a bicultural and bilingual province. Ontario has been the most influential of eastern provinces to affect Manitobas policymaking. Urban socialism and agrarian liberalism outweighed toryism on the new frontier. However, due to the number of Ontarios settlers who moved into province, Manitobas toryism has been considered as on of the strongest in the west. The fourth immigrant wave brought in English labour-socialists and land-hungry Eastern Europeans who avoided the east and headed to relatively empty prairies (Dunn, 2006 26-27). After the forties Manitoba was able to achieve a significant economic diversification. Provincial political life was stable up until 1969s elections when NDP was able to win popular support and overwhelm their Liberal rivals (Friesen, 1987 219, 221).Saskatchewan is often depicted as a Western Canadian Britain. While majority of English immigrants passed Saskatchewan and headed for bigger cities, the provinces rural farm community grew rapidly it had more farmers than all other prairie provinces combined. These conservatively liberal Britons were mobilized enough to create a strong farmers union of the land Saskatchewans Farmers Union. as well to other prairie farmer movements, those of Manitoba and Alberta, it had one idea in mind, which was to create a socialist farm organization based on equity. However, when Farmer-Labour party emerged out of Saskatchewans ILP and united farmers the economic and thus political interest was shifted to cities rather than farms. Since that time socialist became steadily dependant on larger towns rather than rural communities. Two political parties have been competing for power in the recent decades, Saskatchewans social democrats and conservatives (Dunn, 2006 28-29).Just like Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Alberta was a land of opportunity for new settlers. Since the forties Alber ta has been considered as Canadas Cinderella. No other place has seen the growth more rapid, the assembly of wealth so inevitable and the confidence so obvious. The discovery of oil in 1947 was a significant event as the province entered a new phase in its development. One of direct consequences of the oil blast was its impact on provinces population increase Alberta became the most populous in the prairie west (Friesen, 1987 427).Alberta imitated the politics of the Great Plains state and tied itself closer to the US than any other prairie province. Due to a high volume of immigrants from the south in the early 1900s, there has been a higher number of American-born Albertans than those whose parents descended from Britain. American ideas have also dominated Albertas politics as more and more Americans settled in the provinces rural areas where radical liberalism have been espoused. Great slack and discrepancies between prairies farmer unions led to the creation of kindly Credi t which was particularly strong in Alberta. This has further divided Saskatchewan and Alberta ideologically one was pro-socialist and some other thought of a socialism as its enemy (Dunn, 2006 30-31).British capital of South CarolinaThe completion of trans-Canada railway has been a paramount condition of British Columbias magnetize into Confederation. It has been a major plan of the federal government to unite both east and west coasts by a key transportation course (Carty, 1996 33). BCs resource-based economy was highly dependent on transportation and the opening of waterman Canal, in addition to Canadian Pacific railway, have significantly boosted provinces economy. Resembling Australia and its politics, BCs settlements transmitted ideology of labour-socialism. The well organised political force was structured roughly major mining, lumbering and fishing industries of the remote one-industry towns. BCs agriculture has been quite fragmented, isolated and diverse, that is why the creation of United Farmers of BC as a political body has not been perceived seriously (Dunn, 2006 31-32).Just like in Alberta, the CCF appeared in the 1930s depression years and quickly gained popular support. forties were characterized as continuation of cleavage between BCs working and privileged classes. Social Credit took control during the 1950s and like in Alberta was extremely anti-socialist (Ibid. p.32).British Columbia has always been seen as a spoilt child of the Canadian Federation and its relations with the central government has always been called touchy as Norman Ruff observed in the early 1990s, Ottawa-Victoria relations have long been characterized by misunderstanding and bemusement, by suspicion and anger and, thrash of all, by periods of mutual indifference and detachment (Carty, 1996 32-33).ConclusionIf to compare political culture to a number it would not be constant but rather a variable that changes over a period of time, retentiveness some attributes and gaining some new ones. Throughout its history, Canada remained uniquely united politically, despite fragmentation, severe regionalism and separatist threats. Canadians today do not think the way their predecessors thought a century ago, as their values and beliefs, though slowly, but changed over time. Canadians became less British, more liberal in terms of worldview, favouring individualism rather than collectivism, fighting for equality of rights, generally accepting multiculturalism and diversity (Brooks, 2008 1, 5, 30-31).Works citedBellamy, David J., Pammett, Jon H., Rowat, Donald Cameron. 1976.The Provincial political systems comparative essays. Agincourt, Ontario Methuen PublicationsBrooks, Stephen. 2008. Canadian Political Culture. Department of Political Science, University of Windsor, November 29, 2009 Carty, Kenneth R. 1996. Politics, policy, and government in British Columbia. Vancouver UBC bundleClift, Dominique, McLeod Arnopoulos, Sheila. 1984. The English fact i n Quebec. Canada McGill-Queens University cupboardCroats, Rennay. 2002. Quebec. Calgary Weigl Education Publishers Ltd.,Dunn, Christopher. 2006. Provinces Canadian Provincial Politics. 2nd ed. Toronto Higher Education University of Toronto root onEasterbrook, William Thomas, Aitken, Hugh G. J. 1988. 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