Canadian Political Culture(s) in Transition

Canada: The State of the Federation 2000/01 probes beneath the surface to determine if the obvious changes – the fractious federal party system, the "common sense revolution" in government budgeting, the re-birth of the sovereignty movement in Quebec, and the re-assertion of Aboriginal claims – are symptomatic of a shift in Canadian political culture. Arguably, political changes in Canada have been greater in the 1990s than in any other decade since Confederation, but do these changes signify a shift in Canadian political culture? Can we even speak of a Canadian political culture? What are the consequences of these changes for the federation? Are Canadians more or less united? Are federal-provincial relations better or worse? What does the future hold? The authors attempt to answer these questions through analyses of the federal party system, politics in the provinces and regions, and political dynamics in a number of issue areas, including Aboriginal politics, the Charter, multiculturalism, the rural-urban cleavage, and social policy.