As I note at p. 15 of Constitutional Law of Canada, 8th edition, there are four branches of Canadian constitutional law: federalism, constitutionalism, parliamentarism, and democracy. This general categorization was later adopted, with some modifications, by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference ("four foundational constitutional principles that are most germane for resolution of this Reference: federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and respect for minority rights"). Federalism is the cornerstone of the Canadian state. As the Court recognized in the Secession Reference, at para 43, "Federalism was a legal response to the underlying political and cultural realities that existed at Confederation and continue to exist today. At Confederation, political leaders told their respective communities that the Canadian union would be able to reconcile diversity with unity."

There are twenty three federations in the world containing approximately two billion people, or forty per cent of the world's population. Among these twenty three federations are the countries that have the longest surviving constitutions, are the most stable and secure, are the most at peace, exhibit the strongest democratic tendencies, are the wealthiest and are accounted the most advantageous places to live by all international indexes. Political history testifies to the genius of federalism as a highly adaptable and liberating form of political organization. The world's most unified states-- Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom -- are now moving towards federal style arrangements as a solution to various types of political difficulties.

Notwithstanding these developments, the merits of federalism are still hotly debated. In the materials contained in the text, critics and proponents of federalism argue on whether federalism is flexible, whether it accentuates or alleviates ethnic and geographical rivalries, and whether there are institutional problems with federalism, namely duplication and overlap. Some of these debates are carried out in the links listed below. I encourage students to not only think about these debates in the abstract, but also to carry them forward into the doctrinal analyses of the various division of powers. To what extent does the Court's jurisprudence in, for example, trade and commerce, reflect these debates?

In addition to materials contained in Constitutional Law of Canada, 8th edition, the following links might be of some interest:

General

• Forum of Federations
• John A. Macdonald on the Federal System
• Federalism

Publications

• Federal Law Review
• The Federalist Papers Online
• The Avalon Project: The Federalist Papers
• Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Research Groups

• Federalism Research Group
• The Federalist Society
• Center for the Study of Federalism, Temple University