COMMENTARY: Why Newfoundland and Labrador is an outlier in Atlantic Canada
Douglas Brown is retired as an affiliate professor of political science at St. Francis Xavier College. He’s a Distinguished Fellow on the Brian Mulroney Institute of Authorities.
Yearly, Confederation of Tomorrow surveys are carried out by a gaggle of main public coverage and analysis organizations, together with the Environics Institute for Survey Research and the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government.
This year’s survey gauges public opinion on key points and is massive sufficient to have statistically vital outcomes for the smaller items within the Canadian federation, together with the 4 Atlantic provinces — one thing that’s comparatively uncommon in Canadian surveys.
This presents a superb alternative to take a better take a look at what these surveys inform us in regards to the Atlantic area, with some predictable outcomes and a few reasonably shocking ones.
On the state of the federation, opinion in Atlantic Canada is about the identical as the remainder of the nation, that Canada is getting more durable to control; that some great benefits of federalism nonetheless outweigh the disadvantages; and that there’s some “satisfaction with the way in which issues are going within the nation immediately.”
What has modified is that respondents in Atlantic Canada not stand out as unusually completely happy campers and now appear to be getting as depressing as everybody else!
The N.L. distinction
A number of the survey outcomes illustrate robust localized opinion variations. Others level to long-standing divides that query the utility of a regional focus within the first place.
The perfect case right here is Newfoundland and Labrador. It joined Canada in 1949, a lot later than the three Maritime provinces, which joined in 1867–73, and was lumped into a brand new regional grouping referred to as the Atlantic provinces. The official view of the Authorities of Newfoundland and Labrador is, nonetheless, that the province needs to be thought of its personal area and that one can not assume (as is commonly the case in political and different circles in Canada) that its values or pursuits are an identical to the these of the Maritime provinces. That stated, the outcomes of our survey over the previous 4 years does present a powerful convergence of opinion in N.L. with the opposite Atlantic provinces over many of the points lined.
Nonetheless, essential variations stay. The surveys present a constant set of traits that mark out, at least, proof of a novel regional id and self-perception. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are second solely to Quebecers in figuring out with their province earlier than figuring out with Canada (the one two provinces the place a majority really feel that means); N.L. is among the many strongest supporters in Canada for the thought of equal provinces (no particular standing), just like Alberta; N.L. is a powerful supporter of provincial management over power and sources, just like Alberta and Saskatchewan; and N.L. has a stronger total sense of regional alienation, once more just like Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Not one of the different Atlantic provinces present the identical diploma of regional distinctiveness as does N.L.
Not one of the different Atlantic provinces present the identical diploma of regional distinctiveness as does N.L.
Equalization and reform
Opinion was additionally surveyed on two traditional federation points: the equalization program and constitutional reform.
Assist for the equalization program, by which the federal authorities makes funds on to poorer provinces, continues to get pleasure from very excessive assist throughout Canada. That is regardless of a high-profile marketing campaign led by Alberta in 2021 that was geared toward considerably downgrading this system. The Atlantic area’s robust assist for this system matches the nationwide consensus.
In recognition of the fortieth anniversary of the 1982 Structure Act, this yr’s survey requested Canadians about their views on the necessity to reopen the Structure to additional reform. The response was lukewarm throughout Canada, together with in Atlantic Canada.
This yr’s survey additionally confirms a longer-term development of convergence of opinion on extra common political and social points designed to check total values. They supply regional and provincial responses to such questions as “is there an excessive amount of immigration?”; “is it essential to strengthen respect for authority?”; and “do you agree that our society could be higher off if individuals attended church extra frequently?”
On such questions, responses from Atlantic Canada usually are not noticeably extra conservative than the remainder of Canada, maybe opposite to Canadian stereotypes, though the youthful technology is clearly extra progressive than the older.
Diverging opinions
Clear examples of the place the Atlantic area differs considerably from the remainder of Canada are more durable to search out, however three stand out: the pandemic, local weather change and precedence issues confronted by the area.
Two of the questions in regards to the pandemic response elicited a extra pronounced regional viewpoint. When requested in January 2022 about plans to re-open society by eradicating pandemic restrictions, a majority of Canadians stated go slowly. This result’s much more pronounced in Atlantic Canada. Additionally, this area is a transparent outlier in retaining robust belief of their provincial governments (with exceptions in New Brunswick).
Atlantic Canadians strongly approve the close to zero-case technique in coping with the pandemic adopted by all 4 Atlantic provincial governments, particularly provided that it has resulted in fewer instances and deaths per capita than different components of Canada, besides the North.
On local weather change, Atlantic Canadian respondents are near the nationwide common on most questions, however they stand out as second solely to the Prairies in supporting the concept governments prioritize jobs when phasing out fossil fuels. This appears contradictory to the final response however does mirror the significance of power useful resource improvement to the area, and oil and fuel employment, specifically, in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Maybe essentially the most telling divergence from different Canadians is on “crucial subject going through Canadians/your province,” that are open-ended questions permitting true native priorities to emerge.
What has modified is that respondents in Atlantic Canada not stand out as unusually completely happy campers and now appear to be getting as depressing as everybody else!
Right here, well being care makes the highest 10 throughout Canada, however solely in Nova Scotia does it come forward of COVID because the No. 1 subject. Two Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, even have inexpensive housing as among the many high points (as it’s in British Columbia).
The emphasis on well being care might mirror some overlap with the pandemic subject, in that the latter is seen as worsening situations in an already burdened health-care system. Well being care is a long-standing concern throughout Atlantic Canada, given its older and sicker demographics and its persistent fiscal disparities. In Nova Scotia, it was the dominant subject within the 2021 provincial election marketing campaign.
Conclusion
What to make of those survey findings? It’s clear that residents of the Atlantic area really feel more and more built-in in Canada and are, as an entire, much less alienated than different components of the nation.
Divergences and variations do emerge, nonetheless, based mostly on monetary, and social circumstances.
