Dr. Julián Castro-Rea, is a Professor of Political Science, University of Alberta, Canada. His Broad area of research includes: conservatism and the right, North American (Canada, Mexico, US) and Latin American politics, international politics. Within that broad area, he has recently focused on the following specific topics: Conservatism and the political right (ideologies, movements, strategies, impacts on public policy), Canadian politics (institutional and socioeconomic dynamics, Canadian history, provincial politics—especially Quebec and Alberta—and Canadian security policy), Federalism, Regionalism (region-making in the Americas, for economic and political purposes), Nationalism. He has published Dozens of contributions in either one of the four official languages of the Americas (English, French, Spanish or Portuguese). He is also supervisor for MA or PhD students; drawing from thirty-plus year experience with methodology, empirical research and comparative politics. In an inclusive interview he answered our questions like the following: 

Gulan: How do conservative ideas influence federal structures and regional governance in Canada, and what lessons could this offer for new multi-national federal systems?

Dr. Julián Castro-Rea: It depends on the kind of conservatism we’re talking about. Conservatives in the USA for instance stand for strong state powers, and limited federal power. In contrast, most contemporary conservatives in Canada think of the federal government as the Big Brother that oversees the provinces’ activities, while at the same limiting the financial commitments toward them. However, Canadian conservatives pre-1980s used to be very different, believing in the federal government’s responsibility to ensure social services across the country. They were actually the ones who launched Canada’s Welfare State in the 1930s.

The current approach to federalism held by the Conservative Party of Canada is problematic for the country’s minority nations—Québec and Indigenous nations—because Conservatives wish to boss them around. This approach is clearly toxic for new multinational federal systems, where respect for minority nations and regions is crucial for the viability of the state. This respect includes the acceptance of asymmetric arrangements to accommodate regional and cultural diversity. When this condition is not met, federalism may collapse. Examples of federal systems that failed because of that include the West Indies Federation (1958-1962) and the dysfunctional federalism in Nigeria.

Gulan: What makes Canadian federalism good or weak at handling diverse groups like Quebec and Indigenous peoples?

Dr. Julián Castro-Rea: Canadian federalism is sustained by legal, time-honoured pacts between the British Crown—still now Canada’s formal head of government—and minority nations. With Québec, the pact was established in 1774, when king George III issued the Québec Act; recognizing among other things the right of French Canadians to preserve their language, religion and legal system. The pact with Indigenous peoples is even older, when the same king issued the so-called Royal Proclamation of October 1763, recognizing Indigenous peoples as distinct nations with a territory of their own that cannot be appropriated or occupied without their consent.

Over time, new legal and political instruments came to specify these pacts, but their legal basis and validity remain the same. For instance, treaties between the Crown and various Indigenous peoples specified the terms under which European settlers may occupy Indigenous lands. But the land was never ceded, and the Royal Proclamation is still part of Canada’s constitution.

For these reasons, the rights of national minorities stand on solid ground in Canada. Of course, over time they have been challenged by different political actors—provinces, political parties, economic interests, legal scholars, etc.—but the legal precedent ends up prevailing. That’s why we can affirm that Canadian federalism provides strong foundations for national minority rights. 

Gulan: How does Canada balance central power and regional freedom to stay stable, and how could Iraq use similar methods?

Dr. Julián Castro-Rea: Over time, Canada has developed a healthy balance between federal and provincial powers. This is the result of the way Canadian federalism came into being: an agreement between provinces who already had established, well-functioning regional powers, who devolved to the federal government policy matters of common interest: the bulk of taxation, defence, currency, large infrastructure works, etc. Several attempts of federal authorities to claim more powers were systematically pushed back by the provinces.

In contrast, provinces kept for themselves important policy areas: education, healthcare, land and resource management, populations registries, etc. Some areas, like immigration and the environment, were deemed shared between the two levels of government. All the while, all governments must respect the legal commitments with minority nations described in my previous answer. Potential conflicts among governments and minority nations are usually resolved in periodical conferences.

I think Iraq’s nascent federalism could be inspired by Canada’s example: a system that is adaptable, flexible, even pragmatic yet founded on solid legal grounds that political players mostly respect. Iraq could adopt the combination that has served Canada well: symmetric federalism for federal units where the cultural majority of the country prevails, asymmetrical federalism where national minorities prevail in a given region.

Gulan: Can Canada’s approach to bilingualism, minority rights, and regional issues help Iraq manage its ethnic and sectarian divisions?

Dr. Julián Castro-Rea: I believe the question has been partially answered with my previous reply. Yes, Canada can provide an interesting template for Iraq on how to manage deep ethnic and sectarian divisions.

However, two caveats to your question are in order:

a. “ Minority rights” in Canada are reserved to communities of immigrants, they do not apply to minority nations. It would be a big legal and indeed political mistake to treat historical minority nations the same way in which communities of immigrants are dealt with. To put it simply, while minority rights ensure that immigrants are treated the same as other Canadians, recognition of national minority status ensures that these minorities are treated differently than the rest of Canadians.

b. Bilingualism is indeed official policy in Canada, but it is a myth in sociological terms. While Canada is supposed to be bilingual across its entire territory, English is vastly predominant while French is concentrated in the provinces of Québec, New Brunswick, Eastern Ontario and pockets of speakers in other provinces. It was meant to be a symbolic recognition to the French Canadian minority nation, but it hasn’t fundamentally modified the linguistic landscape of the country.

Gulan: How does Canadian federalism balance provincial interests with national security in foreign policy, and what can federations in unstable regions like Iraq learn from this?

Dr. Julián Castro-Rea: National security and foreign policy are policy areas exclusively reserved to the federal government, and provinces rarely contest that role. From time to time provinces implicitly diverge from the federal government by engaging in foreign activities mostly in the area of economic affairs and trade. For instance, provinces have reacted differently to US president Donald Trump aggressive imposition of punitive tariffs; while Ontario’s premier Doug Ford called for retaliation, Alberta’s premier Danielle Smith called for simply abiding to US demands to stop the punitive tariffs. However, provincial divergence on foreign policy matters is frowned upon by most Canadians, who would like to see all Canadians acting in unison against external threats.

The best contribution that federalism can make to Iraq or other unstable areas regarding national security and foreign policy is to consolidate stable governments and institutions, where every region feels treated fairly and therefore contributes to preserve that stability.