Canada's original constitutional arrangements were far from those of a perfect or ideal federal state. The FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION envisaged a federal union (seeFEDERALISM) tilted toward a strong central government. The powers of the federal government to disallow provincial statutes within one year of their passage (see DISALLOWANCE); to appoint provincial lieutenant-governors; to declare provincial works to be for the general advantage of Canada or 2 or more provinces; to appoint judges of superior, district and county courts (see JUDICIARY); and to enjoy broad lawmaking powers all confirm the intended junior status of provincial governments. The evolution of Canadian society, despite the centralizing swings occasioned by the 2 world wars and the economic depression of the 1930s, has long eroded this early sense of provincial subordination. Although not all contemporary provincial governments have been as assertive as those of Québec or Alberta, most claim a more equal partnership with Ottawa.

CONFEDERATION was predicated on a primary role for the central government in the promotion of an economic union and in the stimulation of national economic expansion through the development of transportation links (railways, harbours and canals) and other forms of public-policy support (see RAILWAY HISTORY) but by the 1880s the momentum behind nation building had slowed and was soon overtaken by the assertion of provincially based political and economic attachments. Other elements that helped enhance the status of provincial governments included the political leadership of such provincial spokesmen as Oliver MOWAT, Honoré MERCIER and William FIELDING; PM Sir Wilfrid LAURIER's more sympathetic attitude towards the provinces; the development, in various provinces, of resource-based economic interests (see RESOURCE RIGHTS); and the emergence of a provincial bent in the decisions of the JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL on the distribution of federal-provincial powers.

The provincial governments always played some role in their regional economic development through public investment in transportation and the growth of their public education systems; the expansion of these activities and the later growth of social assistance, health and hospital programs in the 1960s and 1970s changed the original conception of the functions and broadened the scope of provincial governments.