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Local Governments in the Canadian Federal System: Institutions, Jurisdiction and Cooperation

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Local Governance in Multi-Layered Systems

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 108))

Abstract

The Canadian federal system is founded on a complex constitutional architecture. Any thorough analysis of the organization and structure of local governance in Canada commands a context-oriented approach combining the study of formal legal sources as well as informal institutional practices. In order to offer such in-depth examination of the functioning of local governments in the Canadian federal system, the chapter presents the general architecture in which local governments have been deployed in Canada, after which it details their structure and institutions and the constitutional jurisdiction prevailing over them. The focus then turns to intergovernmental relations between the federal, provincial, and local governments, before discussing horizontal cooperation between local governments and their financial autonomy.

The authors are very grateful to Johanne Poirier and David Carpentier for their thoughtful comments on a preliminary version of this chapter, which helped improve its quality.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Karazivan (2020), p. 292. See also: Gaudreault-Desbiens and Poirier (2017). For more on this, see Poirier and Saunders (2015).

  2. 2.

    Hutchinson (2013), p. 53.

  3. 3.

    Young (2009), p. 107. See also Collin and Léveillée (2003).

  4. 4.

    Young (2013), pp. 25–26. See also Turgeon (2009).

  5. 5.

    The three northern territories are a specific case: while constitutionally they could be equated with very large ‘local government’ under federal jurisdiction, in practice, they sometimes enjoy the same degree of autonomy as provinces.

  6. 6.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 428; Morissette (2018), p. 7.

  7. 7.

    See, for instance, Pacific National Investments Ltd. v. Victoria (City), [2000] 2 SCR 919, par. 33; Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Assn. v. Ontario (Attorney General), [2001] 1 SCR 470, par. 58; Godbout v. Longueuil (City), [1997] 3 SCR 844, par. 52.

  8. 8.

    Young (2009), p. 107.

  9. 9.

    Young (2009), p. 107. For an overview province by province, see Sancton and Young (2009).

  10. 10.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 428; Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 6.

  11. 11.

    Young (2009), p. 107.

  12. 12.

    See Morissette (2018), pp. 79–85.

  13. 13.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 1.

  14. 14.

    Pacific National Investments Ltd. v. Victoria (City), supra, par. 33. See also 114957 Canada Ltée (Spraytech, Société d’arrosage) v. Hudson (Town), [2001] 2 SCR 241, par. 3: ‘The case arises in an era in which matters of governance are often examined through the lens of the principle of subsidiarity’.

  15. 15.

    Young (2009), p. 108.

  16. 16.

    Papillon (2020), p. 398; Rodon (2019), p. 11.

  17. 17.

    Government of Canada (2018).

  18. 18.

    Rodon (2019), pp. 11–12.

  19. 19.

    Constitutional Act, 1982, sect. 25 and 35.

  20. 20.

    Constitutional Act, 1867, sect. 91 (24).

  21. 21.

    Rousseau (2020), para 21.

  22. 22.

    Cities and Towns Act, c C-19.

  23. 23.

    Municipal Code of Québec, c C-27.1.

  24. 24.

    As the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities, c E-2.2 or the Act respecting municipal taxation, c F-2.1. See Rousseau (2020), paras 30–31 for a more exhaustive account.

  25. 25.

    Rousseau (2020), paras 22–44.

  26. 26.

    Order in Council 1421-2018, (2019) 52 G.O. II, 7932.

  27. 27.

    Leblanc Massé and Rioux (2019), para 1.

  28. 28.

    Leblanc Massé and Rioux (2019), para 4.

  29. 29.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 32.

  30. 30.

    See Charter of Ville de Montréal, metropolis of Québec, c C-11.4; Charter of Ville de Québec, national capital of Québec, c C-11.5.

  31. 31.

    Dewing et al. (2006), pp. 18–19.

  32. 32.

    Act respecting municipal territorial organization, c O-9, art. 210.30.

  33. 33.

    Ibid., article 210.24.

  34. 34.

    Ibid., article 210.25.

  35. 35.

    Ibid., article 210.29.1.

  36. 36.

    Leblanc Massé and Rioux (2019), para 31.

  37. 37.

    Like Ontario and British Columbia: see Collin and Léveillée (2003), pp. 7–8.

  38. 38.

    Act respecting the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, c C-37.01.

  39. 39.

    Act respecting the Communauté métropolitaine de Québec, c C-37.02.

  40. 40.

    Act respecting municipal territorial organization, supra, art. 86 al. 2; Leblanc Massé and Rioux (2019), paras 12–15.

  41. 41.

    An Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance, SQ 2020, c 1.

  42. 42.

    Elsewhere in Canada, school boards are also in place and constitute local governments: see Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 13.

  43. 43.

    Young (2009), p. 107.

  44. 44.

    Young (2013), p. 26.

  45. 45.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 3; Cantwell (2020).

  46. 46.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 1.

  47. 47.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 1.

  48. 48.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 1.

  49. 49.

    As demonstrated by the situation in Quebec: An Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance, supra.

  50. 50.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 2.

  51. 51.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), pp. 3–4.

  52. 52.

    Westmount (Ville de) v. Québec (Procureur Général du), [2001] RJQ 2520, par. 115 (our translation).

  53. 53.

    See An Act to reform the municipal territorial organization of the metropolitan regions of Montréal, Québec and the Outaouais, SQ 2000, c 56.

  54. 54.

    East York (Borough) v. Ontario (Attorney General), 34 OR (3d) 789.

  55. 55.

    See Sancton (2006), pp. 119–137. See also Morissette (2018), pp. 1–7; Dewing et al. (2006), p. 3.

  56. 56.

    See Normand (2019).

  57. 57.

    Young (2009), p. 110; Collin and Léveillée (2003), pp. 8–9. In Canada, ‘Crown Land’ means ‘publicly held’ land, whether it is held by provinces or (more rarely) the federal order.

  58. 58.

    Act respecting municipal territorial organization, supra, art. 7.

  59. 59.

    See Normand (2019).

  60. 60.

    Monahan et al. (2017), p. 259. See also Poirier (2006), p. 215; Turcotte (2015).

  61. 61.

    See Reference Re Canada Assistance Plan, [1991] 2 SCR 525; Lovelace v. Ontario, [2000] 1 SCR 950.

  62. 62.

    Rousseau (2020), para 15; Monahan et al. (2017), p. 260; Turgeon (2009), p. 359.

  63. 63.

    Dunn (2006), p. 303.

  64. 64.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 4.

  65. 65.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 4.

  66. 66.

    Monahan et al. (2017, p. 79.

  67. 67.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 4.

  68. 68.

    Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution of Canada, 20 November 1980, 9:10.

  69. 69.

    Federation of Canadian Municipalities (1980), p. 9.

  70. 70.

    Dewing et al. (2006), p. 9. See also McMillan (2006) and Graham (2010).

  71. 71.

    Dupré (1998).

  72. 72.

    Turgeon (2009), p. 360.

  73. 73.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), pp. 430–431.

  74. 74.

    See Poirier and Saunders (2015).

  75. 75.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 445.

  76. 76.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 437.

  77. 77.

    Doberstein (2019), p. 530. See also Horak (2012), p. 343.

  78. 78.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 3; Young (2009), p. 120.

  79. 79.

    Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif, c M-30, art. 3.11.

  80. 80.

    Rousseau (2020), para 15.

  81. 81.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 428.

  82. 82.

    Hulchanski (2006).

  83. 83.

    Poirier (2006).

  84. 84.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), pp. 428–429.

  85. 85.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 430. See also Bradford (2016), p. 659.

  86. 86.

    Adam et al. (2015).

  87. 87.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 436.

  88. 88.

    Shott (2017), p. 112.

  89. 89.

    Shott (2017), pp. 119–120.

  90. 90.

    Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 437.

  91. 91.

    Young (2009), p. 111.

  92. 92.

    Municipal Code of Québec, supra, art. 579. See Leblanc Massé and Rioux (2019), paras 24–27.

  93. 93.

    Young (2009), p. 111.

  94. 94.

    Alcantara and Nelles (2016), p. 4.

  95. 95.

    Nelles and Alcantara (2011).

  96. 96.

    Alcantara and Nelles (2016), p. 4.

  97. 97.

    Young (2009), p. 116.

  98. 98.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), pp. 15–19.

  99. 99.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), pp. 15–16; Lucas and Smith (2020), p. 429.

  100. 100.

    Statistics Canada (n.d.).

  101. 101.

    Young (2009), p. 118.

  102. 102.

    Young (2009), p. 118.

  103. 103.

    Statistics Canada (n.d.).

  104. 104.

    Young (2009), p. 118.

  105. 105.

    See the example of Quebec: Cities and Towns Act, supra, art. 474; Municipal Code of Québec, supra, art. 954; Bouchard and Boies (2017).

  106. 106.

    Collin and Léveillée (2003), p. 20.

  107. 107.

    Young (2009), p. 118.

  108. 108.

    See Carpentier (2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Dave Guénette

  2. Department of Political Science, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Félix Mathieu

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  1. University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Matteo Nicolini

  2. Eurac Research, Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Alice Valdesalici

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Guénette, D., Mathieu, F. (2023). Local Governments in the Canadian Federal System: Institutions, Jurisdiction and Cooperation. In: Nicolini, M., Valdesalici, A. (eds) Local Governance in Multi-Layered Systems. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 108. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41792-4_3

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