This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Political Union Debate in Canada’s Maritime Provinces, 1960-1980: Why did a Union Not Happen? Luke Flanagan PhD University of Edinburgh 2012 I declare that this thesis is my own work and effort. Where other sources have been used, they are acknowledged. Luke Flanagan PhD Candidate November 2012 Abstract Utilising a historical perspective and drawing upon path dependence theory, the thesis focuses on the question of a political union of Canada’s three Maritime provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island - between 1960 and 1980. Drawing on archival sources and interviews the thesis examines the factors which increased the potential for a union and resulted in a political union not occurring in this period. The thesis reveals how the intensification of Quebec separatism throughout the 1960s and 1970s threatened to separate the region geographically from the rest of the country. It also shows that the regional expansionist agenda of the federal government undermined provincial jurisdiction as it sought to eliminate economic underdevelopment in the Maritime region. These factors coupled with the dynamics of province-building and the political ambition of key political leaders in the Maritimes created the impetus for a political union in the 1960s. The thesis pays particular attention to the Maritime Union Study (MUS), established in 1968 by the Maritime premiers to investigate the union question. The thesis argues that the MUS was a critical juncture because it presented the premiers with a number of alternative choices for political change, including its main recommendation: the establishment of a political union. However, the thesis reveals that upon the publication of the final report of the MUS in November 1970, the ramifications of the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec and the recent election of new premiers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick reconfigured the national and regional contexts in which a political union was considered. This reconfiguration led to a new form of institutionalised intergovernmental relations called the Council of Maritime Premiers (CMP). The CMP was a confederal structure which respected the provincially-focused decision-making capacity of the Maritime premiers. The key conclusion of the thesis is that engagement with the question of a political union reflected a balance between political environment and political agency. The national political environment encouraged the consideration of a political union because it revealed a vulnerability to external occurrences which were beyond the control of the three provinces and connected with an internal logic for change. A political union was seen as a way for the region to develop the capacity to become economically self-sufficient and in turn neutralise the implications of unexpected externalities. However, alternative opportunities for political action were pursued when the national political environment became reconfigured and new political leaders were elected. This dynamic explains why, despite a critical juncture, a union did not happen. As such, the thesis shows that the current understanding of change to path dependent i settings is confirmed. Established trajectories will be more inclined towards persistence than change. The key contribution of the thesis to path dependence theory is that change is not the default outcome of a critical juncture. If change is viable, considered but not ultimately selected it is no less a critical juncture than those which produce enduring change. On a broader level, the thesis gives an indication as to the difficulty of political amalgamations between constitutionally protected entities within established federal states. ii Contents Chapter Page List of Figures and Tables v List of Abbreviations vi Key Events Timeline viii Key Political Leaders and Actors xii 1. Sub-National Political Union in a Federal State 1 2. Conceptualising Sub-National Political Union 14 3. Researching Sub-National Political Union 38 4. The Maritime Provinces: The Origins of Distinct Territorial Governance 70 5. The Swinging of a Pendulum: Canadian Federalism to the 1950s 100 6. The 1960s: The Emergence of the Political Union Concept 132 7. Towards a Critical Juncture: The Establishment of the Maritime Union Study 160 8. The 1970s: Political Union vs. Intergovernmental Cooperation 194 9. Conclusion: Why did a Political Union Not Happen? 230 Appendices 1. Louis Robichaud’s Speech to the Charlottetown Centennial Conference 243 2. Louis Robichaud’s Document to the Atlantic Premiers Conference 246 iii 3. Legislative Resolutions Committing to Establish a Political Union Study 248 4. Legislative Statement Made by Each Maritime Premier Announcing the Establishment of the Maritime Union Study 249 5. Special Studies of the Maritime Union Study 250 Bibliography 252 iv List of Figures and Tables Figure Title Page No. 2.1 The Process of Structural Change 30 2.2 Bolleyer’s indicators for the degrees of institutionalization of IGR 34 3.1 Hypothesised Process of Change within Path Dependent Settings 41 4.1 Map of the Maritime Region as a Single Territorial Entity – 1783 72 4.2 The Four Maritime Colonies (and Newfoundland) 1807 76 4.3 The Meaning of Responsible Government 80 8.1 Editorial Cartoon by Bob Chambers - 28 April 1970 198 Table Title Page No. 3.1 Relative Attractiveness of Canada and the Provinces by Province (1974) 47 3.2 Approval Rating for Provincial Premiers, February 2010 55 Imports and Exports to the United States, 1853-1866, as a percentage of those 4.1 85 of 1853 (Maritime Colonies. Total Relief and Other Public Welfare Expenditures (Millions of Canadian 5.1 104 Dollars) 5.2 Federal Subventions and Grants-in -Aid to the Provinces, 1913-1937 113 Transfer Payments from Federal to Provincial Government as a Share of 6.1 150 Provincial Government Revenues, 1961-1980 (Percentage of Total Revenue) Equalization Entitlements by Province, 1960-1980 (By province, millions of 6.2 152 Canadian dollars) Application of Bolleyer institutionalisation model to the Council of Maritime 8.1 209 Premiers v List of Abbreviations ACW – American Civil War APC - Atlantic Premiers Conference APEC - Atlantic Provinces Economic Council AnPC - Annual Premiers Conference B&B - Bilingualism and Biculturalism BC - British Columbia BNA – British North America BNA Act – British North America Act CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CMP - Council of Maritime Premiers CPOs - Causal Process Observations DR – Durham Report DREE - Department of Regional Economic Expansion EOP - Equal Opportunity Programme FLQ - Front de Libération du Québec HI – Historical Institutionalism ICR – Inter-Colonial Railway IGAs – Intergovernmental Arrangements IGR - Intergovernmental Relations INUS – A neither sufficient nor necessary factor that is part of an overall combination that is sufficient for the outcome JLA - Joint Legislative Assembly JLC - Joint Legislative Committee MP – Member of Parliament MPC - Maritime Provinces Commission MRM - Maritime Rights Movement MUS - Maritime Union Study NDP – New Democratic Party NI - New Institutionalism PEI - Prince Edward Island PQ - Parti Québécois SUIN - a sufficient but unnecessary part of a factor that is insufficient but necessary for an outcome vi UK – United Kingdom UN - Union Nationale US - United States VEP - Voluntary Economic Planning vii Key Events Timeline 1758-1956 1758 Establishment of Representative Government in Nova Scotia. 1769 Colonisation of Ile Saint-Jean (PEI). 1784 Colonisation of New Brunswick and Cape Breton. 1820 Re-annexation of Cape Breton to Nova Scotia. 1848 Establishment of Responsible Government in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 1851 Establishment of Responsible Government in PEI. 1864 Charlottetown Conference – discussion of a political union of the three Maritime colonies. 1867 Canadian Confederation. 1867 Entry of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into Confederation. 1873 Entry of PEI into Confederation. 1929-1939 The Great Depression. 1939-1945 The Second World War. 1940 Publication of the Rowell-Sirois Commission. 1956 (July) Establishment of the Atlantic Premiers Conference. viii 1956 (October) Election of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia under Robert Stanfield. 1960-1980 1960 (22 June) Election of the Liberal Party of Quebec under Jean Lesage. 1960 (27 June) Election of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick under Louis Robichaud. 1963 (April) Wilfred O'Neill, a night watchman at the Canadian Army Recruitment Centre in Montreal is killed in an explosion at the Centre. The Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) claim responsibility. 1963 (October) Louis Robichaud’s speech to the Empire Club of Canada. Highlights extreme separatism