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87-476: Surrey-White Rock is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia , Canada. During the 2008 re-distribution of riding boundaries, Surrey-White Rock kept the majority of its existing region. The riding is bounded on the south and west by Semiahmoo Bay , on the east by Highway 99 , and on the north by 24th Avenue. The riding contains the southwest corner of Surrey ,
174-594: A 1978 referendum, but was given limited self-government by a House of Assembly from 1979, and a Legislative Assembly with wider powers in 1988. The Northern Territory refused statehood in a 1998 referendum . The rejection was a surprise to both the Australian and Northern Territory governments. Territory legislation can be disallowed by the Commonwealth Parliament in Canberra, with one notable example being
261-578: A 1997 by-election . Hogg and Redies represented the BC Liberals , while Halford, representing BC United , defected to the Conservatives . ^ Formerly known as the BC Liberals until 2023. Provinces and territories of Canada Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution . In
348-508: A Legislative Assembly. In 1987, an Assembly of Representatives was created, by constitutional decree, whose members were elected by popular vote. The devolution of the executive power was not granted until 1997 when the first head of government was elected by popular vote. Finally, in 2000, power was devolved to the delegaciones , though limited: residents can now elect their own "heads of borough government" ( jefes delegacionales , in Spanish), but
435-770: A base to the navy of an adversary), as well as to support amphibious operations throughout the region (such as the Chesapeake campaign during the American War of 1812 ). Bermuda was consequently the most important British naval and military base in the Americas. Canadian confederation resulted in the Canadian Militia becoming responsible for the defence of the Maritimes, the abolition of the British Army's commander-in-chief there, and
522-586: A devolved Yorkshire Assembly within the UK, with powers over education, environment, transport and housing. In the 2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election , the Yorkshire Party came 3rd. In the United States the federal government and state governments are sovereign. As Native American tribes and the governments they formed pre-date the formation of the United States, their legal position as sovereigns co-exists alongside
609-665: A great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation. They receive " transfer payments " from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes. In practice, however, the federal government can use these transfer payments to influence these provincial areas. For instance, in order to receive healthcare funding under Medicare , provinces must agree to meet certain federal mandates, such as universal access to required medical treatment. Provincial and territorial legislatures have no second chamber like
696-528: A large part of spending is provided by direct grants to such authorities. There also are groups calling for devolution or full independence for Occitania , the Basque Country , Corsica , Alsace , and Brittany . The Spanish Constitution of 1978 granted autonomy to the nationalities and regions of which the Kingdom of Spain is composed. (See also autonomous communities and cities of Spain ) Under
783-515: A lieutenant-general termed a general officer commanding and the Bermuda garrison becoming a command in its own right. Bermuda was consequently left out of the confederation of Canada, though it retained naval links with Halifax and the state church (or established church ), the Church of England , continued to place Bermuda under the bishop of Newfoundland until 1919 (Bermuda also remained linked to
870-680: A new Eastern Territory. A proposal was presented to all NWT voters in a May 1992 plebiscite. Of those voting, 54 percent supported the proposed boundary. The Government of the Northwest Territories, the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (the Inuit claims organization) and the federal government formally adopted the boundary for division in the Nunavut Political Accord. The final piece of the equation fit into place on June 10, 1993, when
957-631: A new boundary. Finally, all parties had to agree on the division of powers between territorial, regional and local levels of government. The various governments and native groups worked closely together to realize these goals. The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was ratified by the Inuit in November 1992, signed by the Prime Minister of Canada on May 25, 1993, and passed by the Canadian Parliament in June of
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#17328455322301044-538: A new devolution settlement for Scotland in the event of a No vote, promising to deliver "faster, safer and better change", and as a result of this vote and promises made during the referendum campaign, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to devolve additional powers to the Scottish government, the nature of which would be determined by the Smith Commission . These powers were subsequently transferred in
1131-631: A prolonged economic crisis , and the legislature turned over political control to the Newfoundland Commission of Government in 1933. Following Canada's participation in the Second World War , in a 1948 referendum , a narrow majority of Newfoundland citizens voted to join the Confederation, and on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province. The province was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. Bermuda ,
1218-492: A share of resource royalties, hunting rights and a greater role in managing the land and protecting the environment. The land claims agreement also committed the Government of Canada to recommend to Parliament legislation to create a new territory in the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. While negotiations on a land claims settlement progressed, work was also taking place to determine potential jurisdictional boundaries for
1305-920: A slim majority and a broad coalition of constitutionalist parties expressed disappointment and concern for the future. In the United Kingdom , devolved government was created for Northern Ireland in 1921 by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , for Wales and Scotland in September 1997 following simple majority referendums , and in London in May 1998. Between 1998 and 1999, the Scottish Parliament , Senedd (Welsh Parliament), Northern Ireland Assembly and London Assembly were established by law. The Campaign for an English Parliament , which supports English devolution (i.e.
1392-537: A state, such as a county or municipality, are a type of devolved government and are defined by individual state constitutions and laws. In the United States, the District of Columbia offers an illustration of devolved government. The District is separate from any state, and has its own elected government. In many ways, on a day-to-day basis, it operates much like another state, with its own laws, court system, Department of Motor Vehicles, public university, and so on. However,
1479-530: Is "State of the Anahuac"). In a recent amendment to the Constitution of Mexico , the country was defined as a "pluricultural nation" founded upon the " indigenous peoples ". They are granted "free-determination" to choose the social, economic, cultural and political organization for which they are to elect representatives democratically in whatever manner they see fit, traditionally or otherwise, as long as women have
1566-523: Is a form of administrative decentralization . Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area, thus granting them a higher level of autonomy . Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority may be temporary and are reversible, ultimately residing with the central government. Thus, the state remains de jure unitary . Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in
1653-611: Is also a participant to negotiations to ensure that Inuit interests are represented. Devolution over natural resources to the government of Nunavut moved forward with the appointment of a Ministerial Representative for Nunavut Devolution. The Representative has held meetings with interested parties including the Boards established under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), territorial and federal government departments in order to determine if devolution will occur and if so
1740-681: Is called the National Assembly . Ontario has a legislative assembly but its members are called members of the Provincial Parliament or MPPs. The legislative assemblies use a procedure similar to that of the House of Commons of Canada . The head of government of each province, called the premier , is generally the head of the party with the most seats. This is also the case in Yukon, but the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no political parties at
1827-602: The Alberta Party and Saskatchewan Party . The provincial political climate of Quebec is different: the main split is between sovereignty , represented by the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire , and federalism , represented primarily by the Quebec Liberal Party . The Coalition Avenir Québec , meanwhile, takes an abstentionist position on the question and does not support or oppose sovereignty. Currently,
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#17328455322301914-560: The Canadian Senate . Originally, most provinces had such bodies, known as legislative councils , with members titled councillors. These upper houses were abolished one by one, Quebec's being the last in 1968. In most provinces, the single house of the legislature is known as the Legislative Assembly; the exceptions are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the chamber is called the House of Assembly , and Quebec where it
2001-548: The Colony of British Columbia . NWT included the northern two-thirds of Ontario and Quebec. After the province of Manitoba was established in 1870, in a small area in the south of today's province, almost all of present-day Manitoba was still contained in the NWT. (Manitoba expanded to its present size in 1912.) The British claims to the Arctic islands were transferred to Canada in 1880, adding to
2088-555: The Constitution Act are divided between the Government of Canada (the federal government) and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. A change to the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment , whereas a similar change affecting the territories can be performed unilaterally by the Parliament of Canada or government. In modern Canadian constitutional theory ,
2175-627: The Hudson's Bay Company . In 1870, the company relinquished its claims for £300,000 (CND$ 1.5 million), assigning the vast territory to the government of Canada. Subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. The North-West Territories encompassed all of current northern and western Canada, except for the British holdings in the Arctic islands and
2262-772: The Keewatin Region . It occupied the area that is now the Kenora District of Ontario, northern Manitoba, and mainland Nunavut. The government of Keewatin was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The territory did not have any representation in federal parliament. The vast majority of Canada's population is concentrated in areas close to the Canada–US border . Its four largest provinces by area ( Quebec , Ontario , British Columbia and Alberta ) are also (with Quebec and Ontario switched in order) its most populous; together they account for 86% of
2349-512: The Labrador Inuit self-government Nunatsiavut stated that it had begun the process of seeking devolution of child protection services from the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development with the goal for negotiations to conclude within three years. The Northwest Territories (NWT) was governed from Ottawa from 1870 until the 1970s, except for
2436-455: The Nunavut Act received Royal Assent. It officially established the territory of Nunavut and provided a legal framework for its government. It fixed April 1, 1999, as the day on which the new territory would come into existence. The government of Nunavut is currently negotiating with the government of Canada on a devolution agreement. Nunavut Tunngavik , the organization of Inuit of Nunavut,
2523-732: The Parliament of Canada with the adoption of the Quebec Boundary Extension Act, 1898 and the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912 . The status of the interior of Labrador that was believed part of Ungava was settled in 1927 by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled in favour of the Dominion of Newfoundland . The offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec remained part of
2610-562: The River St. Lawrence and Coast of America and North America and West Indies Station , the North America and Newfoundland Station , the North America and West Indies Station , and finally the America and West Indies Station ) main bases, dockyards, and Admiralty Houses. The squadron of the station was based at Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax , during the summers and Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda , in
2697-670: The Scotland Act 2016 . Following the outcome of the Brexit vote on 23 June 2016, calls for further devolution have been raised, including differential membership of the European single market for the devolved areas of the United Kingdom. The Yorkshire Party is a regionalist political party in Yorkshire , a historic county of England . Founded in 2014, it campaigns for the establishment of
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2784-517: The Yukon Act transformed the Council into an elected body. Over time the territorial government exercised expanded functions. Relevant developments include the following: All constituent states of Mexico are fully autonomous and comprise a federation. The Federal District, originally integrated by Mexico City and other municipalities, was created in 1824 to be the capital of the federation. As such, it
2871-524: The delegaciones do not have regulatory powers and are not constituted by a board of trustees, like the municipalities of the constituent states . The autonomy, or home rule, of the Federal District, was granted by the federal government, which in principle has the right to remove it. The president of Mexico still holds the final word in some decisions (e.g. he must approve some posts), and the Congress of
2958-563: The world's second-largest country by area. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867 ), whereas territories are federal territories whose governments are creatures of statute with powers delegated to them by the Parliament of Canada . The powers flowing from
3045-408: The "system of autonomies" ( Spanish : Estado de las Autonomías ), Spain has been quoted to be "remarkable for the extent of the powers peacefully devolved over the past 30 years" and "an extraordinarily decentralised country", with the central government accounting for just 18% of public spending; the regional governments 38%, the local councils 13% and the social-security system the rest. In 2010
3132-477: The 1867 Canadian Confederation , three provinces of British North America — New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and the Province of Canada (which upon Confederation was divided into Ontario and Quebec )—united to form a federation , becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it
3219-596: The 60° parallel, Ontario's to Hudson Bay and Quebec's to encompass the District of Ungava . In 1869, the people of Newfoundland voted to remain a British colony over fears that taxes would increase with Confederation, and that the economic policy of the Canadian government would favour mainland industries. In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada , Newfoundland underwent
3306-399: The Arctic , particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation leading to more complex international waters disputes . Devolution#Canada List of forms of government Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It
3393-531: The Canadian mainland (from those in James Bay to the Queen Elizabeth Islands ). The following table lists the territories in order of precedence (each province has precedence over all the territories, regardless of the date each territory was created). Another territory, the District of Keewatin , existed from October 7, 1876, until September 1, 1905, when it rejoined the Northwest Territories and became
3480-564: The Constitutional Court ruled that referendums of any kind, defined as measuring the public opinion of all voting citizens ( apellatio ad populum ) can't be held without government approval. On December 12, 2013, the Catalan Government announced that a referendum would be held on self-determination . The central government of Spain considers that a binding referendum is unconstitutional and cannot be held. On October 1, 2017,
3567-715: The French government donated the land used for the Vimy Memorial "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". The site of the Somme battlefield near Beaumont-Hamel site was purchased in 1921 by the people of the Dominion of Newfoundland . These sites do not, however, enjoy extraterritorial status and are thus subject to French law. Since Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for
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3654-451: The Maritimes under the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches). In 1903, resolution of the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbia's northwestern boundary. This was one of only two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. The second reduction, in 1927, occurred when a boundary dispute between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland saw Labrador enlarged at Quebec's expense; this land returned to Canada, as part of
3741-400: The NT's short-lived voluntary euthanasia legislation . Although Canada is a federal state, a large portion of its land mass in the north is under the legislative jurisdiction of the federal government (called territories, as opposed to provinces ). This has been the case since 1870. In 1870 the Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order effected the admission of Rupert's Land and
3828-467: The NWT Legislative Assembly and the federal government accepted the idea of dividing the territory. The idea was viewed as an important step towards enabling the Inuit , and other residents of the Eastern Arctic, to take charge of their own destiny. There were some reservations, however. Before action could be taken, certain practical considerations had to be addressed. First of all, outstanding land claims had to be settled. Second, all parties had to agree on
3915-484: The NWT should be divided?" Fifty-three percent of eligible voters participated in the plebiscite, with 56.4 percent of them voting "yes". Voter turnout and support for division was particularly strong in the Eastern Arctic. The Inuit population of the eastern section of the territory had become increasingly receptive of the idea of self-government. It was viewed as the best way to promote and protect their culture and traditions and address their unique regional concerns. Both
4002-405: The NWT. These include the legislative powers, programs and responsibilities for land and resources associated with the department's Northern Affairs Program (NAP) with respect to: The Government of the Northwest Territories, the Aboriginal Summit and the Government of Canada have each appointed a Chief Negotiator to work on devolution. A Framework Agreement was concluded in 2004. The target date for
4089-450: The North, for organizational and economic purposes. For much of the Northwest Territories' early history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration. The District of Keewatin was created as a separate territory from 1876 to 1905, after which, as the Keewatin Region, it became an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. In 1999, it was dissolved when it became part of Nunavut. Theoretically, provinces have
4176-408: The North-Western Territory to Canada, pursuant to section 146 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Rupert's Land Act, 1868 . The Manitoba Act, 1870 , which created Manitoba out of part of Rupert's Land, also designated the remainder of both the Northwest Territories (NWT), over which Parliament was to exercise full legislative authority under the Constitution Act, 1871 . Yukon was carved from
4263-530: The Northwest Territories in 1898 but remained a territory. In 1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved from the Northwest Territories . Portions of Rupert's Land were added to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, extending those provinces northward from their previous narrow band around the St. Lawrence and lower Great Lakes. The District of Ungava was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1895 to 1912. The continental areas of said district were transferred by
4350-411: The Northwest Territories until the creation of Nunavut in 1999. Since the 1970s, the federal government has been transferring its decision-making powers to territorial governments. This means greater local control and accountability by northerners for decisions central to the future of the territories. In 1999, the federal government created Nunavut pursuant to a land claim agreement reached with Inuit,
4437-423: The Union reviews the budget of the Federal District and sets the limit to its debt. Some left-wing groups and political parties have advocated, since the 1980s, for a full devolution of powers by transforming the Federal District into the thirty-second constituent state of the Federation (with the proposed name of "State of the Valley of Mexico", to be distinguished from the state of México ; another proposed name
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#17328455322304524-451: The Yukon Territory in 1898. The North-West Mounted Police were sent in to ensure Canadian jurisdiction and the Yukon Act provided for a commissioner to administer the territory. The 1898 statute granted the Commissioner in Council "the same powers to make ordinances... as are possessed by the Lieutenant Governor of the North-west Territories, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly thereof". In 1908 amendments to
4611-425: The brief period between 1898 and 1905 when it was governed by an elected assembly. The Carrothers Commission was established in April 1963 by the government of Lester B. Pearson to examine the development of government in the NWT. It conducted surveys of opinion in the NWT in 1965 and 1966 and reported in 1966. Major recommendations included that the seat of government should be located in the territory. Yellowknife
4698-436: The city of White Rock , and the Semiahmoo Indian Reserve . This riding has elected the following members of the Legislative Assembly: The current MLA is Trevor Halford . He was elected in 2020. The previous MLA was Tracy Redies , first elected in 2017, she was the former CEO of Coast Capital Savings and is now the CEO for Science World . And before Redies was Gordon Hogg , a former mayor of White Rock first elected in
4785-428: The completion of devolution talks for the NWT was March 2007. However, stumbling blocks associated with the transfer of current federal employees to the territorial government, and the unresolved issue of how much money the Northwest Territories will receive for its resources has delayed the conclusion of a devolution agreement for the NWT. In 1966, the federal government established the Carruthers Commission to look at
4872-438: The country's population. The territories (the Northwest Territories , Nunavut and Yukon ) account for over a third of Canada's area but are only home to 0.3% of its population, which skews the national population density value. Canada's population grew by 5.0% between the 2006 and 2011 censuses. Except for New Brunswick , all territories and provinces increased in population during this time. In terms of percent change,
4959-411: The creation of a new province but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament , a legislatively simpler process. In late 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status "eventually". He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the ongoing need to assert sovereignty in
5046-403: The delivery of health care, social services, education, administration of airports, and forestry management. The legislative jurisdiction of the territorial legislature is set out in section 16 of the Northwest Territories Act . Now, the government of Canada is negotiating the transfer of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development's remaining provincial-type responsibilities in
5133-422: The establishment of a new system of representative government. As a result, in the late 1960s and 1970s, the federal government gradually created electoral constituencies and transferred many federally run programs to the territorial government. Northerners took on more and more responsibility for the day-to-day running of their own affairs. In 1982 a plebiscite was held in the NWT asking the question, "Do you think
5220-406: The establishment of a separate English parliament or assembly) was formed in 1998. A referendum was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014 which asked citizens whether Scotland should be an independent country. By a margin of approximately 55 percent to 45 percent, people living in Scotland rejected the proposal. The leaders of the three largest British political parties pledged on 16 September 2014
5307-483: The fastest-growing province or territory was Nunavut with an increase of 12.7% between 2011 and 2016, followed by Alberta with 11.6% growth, while New Brunswick's population decreased by 0.5%. Generally, Canadian provinces have steadily grown in population along with Canada. However, some provinces such as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. Ontario and Quebec have always been
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#17328455322305394-408: The federal level, and as a result, have a commissioner that represents the federal government. There are three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay and all islands north of
5481-403: The federal party. The Liberal Party of Canada shares such an organizational integration with Atlantic Canada provincial Liberals in New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , and Prince Edward Island . Other provincial Liberal parties are unaffiliated with their federal counterpart. Some provinces have provincial political parties with no clear federal equivalent, such as
5568-412: The future mandate of devolution. The government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik have appointed negotiators. In 1896, prospectors discovered gold in Yukon , which prompted a massive gold rush that saw the population of Yukon grow very rapidly. By 1898, Dawson grew into the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg , with a population of 40,000. In response, the Canadian government officially established
5655-445: The governments of the 50 states are reserved a broad range of powers in the U.S. Constitution , and most of their laws cannot be voided by any act of U.S. federal government. The District of Columbia, by contrast, is constitutionally under the sole control of the United States Congress , which created the current District government by statute. Any law passed by the District legislature can be nullified by congressional action, and indeed
5742-415: The indicia of sovereignty from the United Kingdom. Prior to this, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada. Over the following years, Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), and Prince Edward Island (1873) were added as provinces. The British Crown had claimed two large areas north-west of the Canadian colony, known as Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory , and assigned them to
5829-431: The indigenous people of Canada's Eastern Arctic. Since that time, the federal government has slowly devolved legislative jurisdiction to the territories. Enabling the territories to become more self-sufficient and prosperous and to play a stronger role in the Canadian federation is considered a key component to development in Canada's North. Among the three territories, devolution is most advanced in Yukon. On June 18, 2021,
5916-505: The individual states and the Federal government. The legal relationships with Native American tribes and their government structures are the jurisdiction of Congress . This relationship is unique to each of the more than 500 tribes and also involves International Treaties between various tribes and Spain, Great Britain, and the eventual United States. Territories are under the direct jurisdiction of Congress. Territorial governments are thus devolved by acts of Congress. Political subdivisions of
6003-403: The issue of government in the north. After extensive study and consultation, the Commission concluded that division of the NWT was probably both advisable and inevitable. There was a recognition that Northerners wanted to run their own affairs and must be given the opportunity to do so. At the same time, however, it noted that governmental reform was required before this could happen. It recommended
6090-424: The last British North American colony, which had been somewhat subordinated to Nova Scotia, was one of two Imperial fortress colonies in British North America – the other being Nova Scotia, and more particularly the city of Halifax. Halifax and Bermuda were the sites of the Royal Navy's North America Station (or, depending on the time period and the extent of the Western Hemisphere it included,
6177-412: The one minority provincial/territorial government is held by the Liberals in Yukon . They are in government with a formal confidence and supply agreement from the Yukon New Democratic Party . The Canadian National Vimy Memorial , near Vimy , Pas-de-Calais, and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial , near Beaumont-Hamel , both in France, are ceremonially considered Canadian territory. In 1922,
6264-410: The province of Newfoundland, in 1949. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the western portion of Northern Canada, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km (1,514,192 sq mi) in land area. They are often referred to as a single region,
6351-468: The provinces are considered to be co-sovereign within certain areas based on the divisions of responsibility between the provincial and federal government within the Constitution Act, 1867 , and each province thus has its own representative of the Canadian Crown , the lieutenant governor . The territories are not sovereign, but instead their authorities and responsibilities are devolved directly from
6438-567: The reduction of British military forces in the Maritimes to a small garrison for the protection of the Halifax dockyard, which would be withdrawn when that dockyard was handed over to the Dominion government in 1905 for use by the new Canadian naval service. Britain retained control of Bermuda as an imperial fortress, with the governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda (a military officer previously ranking between lieutenant-colonel and major-general) becoming
6525-560: The regional government held a referendum despite having been declared illegal by the Spanish courts. Subsequently, several leaders were arrested and imprisoned on charges of "sedition" and "rebellion". The regional president fled to Brussels, but has so far escaped extradition as those offenses are not part of Belgian law or the European Arrest Warrant. On December 21, 2017, fresh elections were held in which pro-independence parties held
6612-597: The rights and responsibilities set forth by the federal constitution and the constitution of the states in which they are located. In the late 1980s a process of decentralisation was undertaken by the French government . Initially regions were created and elected regional assemblies set up. Together with the departmental councils these bodies have responsibility for infrastructure spending and maintenance (schools and highways) and certain social spending. They collect revenues through property taxes and various other taxes. In addition
6699-500: The same name. For example, no provincial Conservative or Progressive Conservative Party shares an organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada , and neither do provincial Green Parties to the Green Party of Canada . Provincial New Democratic Parties, on the other hand, are fully integrated with the federal New Democratic Party —meaning that provincial parties effectively operate as sections, with common membership, of
6786-425: The same opportunities to participate in their social and political life. There are, however, no prescribed limits to their territories, and they are still under the jurisdiction of the municipalities and states in which they are located; the indigenous peoples can elect representatives before the municipal councils. In practice, they are allowed to have an autonomous form of self-government, but they are still subject to
6873-533: The same way as any statute. In federal systems , by contrast, sub-unit government is guaranteed in the constitution , so the powers of the sub-units cannot be withdrawn unilaterally by the central government (i.e. not without the process of constitutional amendment). The sub-units therefore have a lower degree of protection under devolution than under federalism . Australia is a federation. It has six states and two territories with less power than states. The Australian Capital Territory refused self-government in
6960-461: The same year. It was the largest native land claim settlement in Canadian history. It gave the Inuit title over 350,000 square kilometres of land. It also gave the Inuit capital transfers from the federal government of over $ 1.1 billion over the next 14 years. This money will be held in trust with the interest to be used in a variety of different projects, including financing for regional businesses and scholarships for students. The Inuit also gained
7047-514: The size of the North-West Territories. In 1898 the Yukon Territory, later renamed "Yukon" in 2003, was carved from the area surrounding the Klondike gold fields . On September 1, 1905, a portion of the North-West Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba were expanded northward: Manitoba's to
7134-413: The territorial level. The King's representative in each province is the lieutenant governor . In each of the territories there is an analogous commissioner , but they represent the federal government rather than the monarch. Most provinces have rough provincial counterparts to major federal parties. However, these provincial parties are not usually formally linked to the federal parties that share
7221-494: The two biggest provinces in Canada, with together over 60% of the population at any given time. The population of the West relative to Canada as a whole has steadily grown over time, while that of Atlantic Canada has declined. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were the original provinces, formed when several British North American colonies federated on July 1, 1867, into the Dominion of Canada and by stages began accruing
7308-540: The winters until the 1820s, when Bermuda (which was better located to control the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, impossible to attack over land, and almost impregnable against attack over water) became the main base year round. A large British Army garrison in Bermuda , which fell under the commander-in-chief in Nova Scotia , existed to defend the colony as a naval base (and to prevent it becoming as useful
7395-430: Was governed directly by the central or federal government and the president of Mexico appointed its governor or executive regent. Even though the municipalities within the Federal District were autonomous, their powers were limited. In 1928, these municipalities were abolished and transformed into non-autonomous delegaciones or boroughs and a "Central Department", later renamed as Mexico City. In 1970 this department
7482-399: Was selected as the territorial capital as a result. Transfer of many responsibilities from the federal government was recommended and carried out. This included responsibility for education, small business, public works, social services and local government. Since the report, the government of Northwest Territories has taken over responsibilities for several other programs and services including
7569-503: Was split into four new delegaciones , and Mexico City was constitutionally defined to be synonymous and coterminous with the entire Federal District. (As such, the boroughs of the Federal District are boroughs of Mexico City). In the 1980s, the citizens of the Federal District, being the most populated federal entity in Mexico, began to demand home rule: a devolution of autonomy in order to directly elect their head of government and to set up
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