Abstract

The Canadian legal order is an interesting constitutional case in that it is inspired by two models which differ in both their essential features and the distribution of powers between constitutional organs and various levels of government. A form of parliamentary government of British derivation is combined with a type of federal state similar to the American form of federalism. The essay begins with these distinctive features of the constitutional order and then analyses how they affect government at the provincial level, with particular reference to the division of powers and the formal and substantial relationships among the provincial governments.