Shifting Power: The New Ontario and What it Means for Canada 
The Annual State of the Federation Conference 
November 19‐20, 2010 
The Munk Centre for International Studies 

 
PREAMBLE
Canada’s policy architecture evolved over the 20th century. It built a protected
national internal market, a strong manufacturing base centred in southwestern
Ontario and a set of redistributive policies that supported less prosperous individuals
and regions.

But Canada and the world are transforming rapidly. The country faces a set of
important new realities:

• Canadian prosperity is more evenly distributed across Canada’s regions.

• Services and natural resources have emerged as the primary drivers of
aggregate national growth and of regional inequality.
• Globalization and free trade mean that Canada is, more than ever, competing
with countries around the world for investment, human capital, and markets for
our goods and services.
• The recent global recession also means that governments across the federation
are facing deficits, some of which are structural.
• Demographic changes, including an aging population, will compound the
enormous fiscal pressure on many national and provincial programs.

During most of the 20th century, Ontario was unique amongst Canadian regions in its
lack of a strong regional identity, moderating and complicating conflicts over the role
of the federal government. Ontarians’ stronger support for the federal government
during this period was a defining characteristic of many of Canada’s political and
constitutional debates. It is possible that this feature of Canadian political life is
evolving.

To what extent is current public policy capable of addressing these realities? What
changes are required to ensure that Canada is positioned to retain and build upon its
competitive advantage in the global economy while ensuring the adequacy of
programs that its citizens rely upon? To what extent does the policy architecture of
the 20th century, including regional redistribution, need to be modified to reflect
recent economic and demographic shifts within the federation? What are the signs
and implications of the evolving attitudes to the federation among Ontarians and
other Canadians?

The Institute for Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University will partner with
the Mowat Centre at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of
Toronto to host the annual State of the Federation Conference, which will respond to
these and other questions and assess the implications for Canada and federalism.

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CONFERENCE AGENDA & PAPER THEMES

Day 1 – November 19th 

1. Panel: Fiscal Sustainability 
• The  Mowat  Centre  is  producing  a  paper  on  the  relative  fiscal  positions  and 
challenges  facing  Ontario,  other  provinces  and  the  federal  government. 
Panellists will speak to these issues and address the larger question of the fiscal 
sustainability of Canadian governments.  
 
2. Panel: The New Ontario 
• The “Laurentian Thesis” Revisited  
• The “New Regionalism” Revisited  
• Ontario as Regional Actor  
• Ontario as Global Citizen  
 
3. Lunch Plenary 1: Positioning Ontario Higher on the Value Chain 
• Theme: How can Ontarian and Canadian companies become global leaders that 
create wealth and prosperity, and what role is there for public policy to support 
that objective? 
 
4. Panel: Roles and Responsibilities for a 21st Century Economy  
• Quebec’s Model of Federalism: Lessons for Ontario?  
• The Future of National Standards  
• Will  Rationalizing  Roles  and  Responsibilities  be  the  Next  Big  Intergovernmental 
Dialogue?  
• Province‐Building versus Country‐Building: Is There a Trade‐Off?  
 
5. Conference  Dinner  &  Keynote  Panel:  Historical  Reflections  on  Ontario’s  Evolving 
Place in Confederation  
• Former  provincial  political  leaders  will  offer  their  perspectives  on  Ontario’s 
traditional and emerging roles in Confederation. 
 
Day 2 – November 20th 

1. Panel: Ontario’s Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda  
• A New Model for Economic Development  
• Funding innovation – A New Model for the Ontario Economy  
• Whither Manufacturing?  
 
 

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2. Panel: The Future of Inter‐regional Redistribution  
• The  Mowat  Centre  is  producing  a  paper  that  discusses  the  future  of  inter‐
regional  redistribution  in  Canada  in  light  of  changing  national  and  global 
economic  realities.  Panellists  will  react  to  this  paper  and  offer  their  own 
thoughts on the implications for federal fiscal transfers.  
 
3. Lunch Plenary 2: Regional Perspectives on the New Ontario 
• Prominent Canadians from outside Ontario will discuss Ontario’s traditional and 
emerging roles in Confederation and what changes in Ontario’s position means 
for Canadians outside Ontario. 
 
4. Panel: Social Contract in the Federation: An Ontario Perspective  
• The Future of the Welfare State in Ontario and Canada  
• Citizen Federalism  
• Canada’s Broken Social Contract  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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