Watertight Compartments: Analyzing Health Care Promises in the 2021 Federal Election

A key feature of the Canadian federation is the tension between federal resources and provincial responsibilities. This essay explores this tension within the context of the 2021 Canadian federal election, through an analysis of the extent to which health care promises made by the major political parties required actions beyond the federal government’s jurisdiction. The findings indicate that while the fulfillment of most promises would require provincial and territorial consent, the federal government is able to encroach into areas of provincial jurisdiction through its significant fiscal capacity.