Defiance: Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Shifting Dynamics of Canadian Federalism

This research notes focuses on the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments’ addition of defiance to their repertoire of conflictual inter-governmental behaviors. Between 2019 and 2024, the two provinces both threatened and employed measures best understood as “defiance” - the refusal to implement or comply with a federal government policy. The use of defiance represents an important expansion of the Canadian inter-governmental relations toolkit. If normalized, it will change the practice of Canadian federalism.