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Intergovernmental Relations in Canada's Immigration System: From Bilateralism towards Multilateral Collaboration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2015

Robert Schertzer
Robert Schertzer*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3G3, Email: robert.schertzer@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

This article has two objectives. The first is to highlight a turn towards multilateral collaboration in the immigration sector and the resulting focus on pan-Canadian policy objectives and initiatives. This account is set against the current literature, which argues a bilateral approach to intergovernmental relations in the sector has resulted in asymmetrical policies and programs. The second objective is to demonstrate the value of explicitly focusing on the nature of intergovernmental relations as unilateral, bilateral or multilateral. Applying this lens, the article draws out the drivers and complexity of the turn towards multilateral collaboration in the immigration sector, arguing it is motivated by an increased provincial engagement in economic immigration and also by the federal government's desire to reassert its own role in response.

Résumé

Cet article vise deux objectifs. En premier lieu, mettre en lumière l'évolution progressive vers une collaboration multilatérale dans le secteur de l'immigration et, conséquemment, l'importance accordée aux initiatives et aux objectifs en matière de politiques pancanadiennes. Ce compte rendu a recours, comme toile de fond, à la littérature actuelle, selon laquelle une approche bilatérale des relations intergouvernementales dans le secteur aurait entraîné des politiques et des programmes asymétriques. En second lieu, démontrer l'importance de faire ressortir clairement la nature des relations intergouvernementales - unilatérales, bilatérales ou multilatérales. À l'aide de cette perspective, l'article jette un éclairage sur les facteurs de changement et sur la complexité de ce virage vers la collaboration multilatérale dans le secteur de l'immigration en faisant valoir qu'il s'explique par l'implication accrue des gouvernements provinciaux dans l'immigration économique et par le désir du gouvernement fédéral de réaffirmer, en réaction, son propre rôle.

Veuillez prendre note que des corrections ont été apportées au résumé de la version originale en ligne de cet article. L’éditeur présente ses excuses pour ces erreurs.

Type
Immigration and Identity Politics in Canada
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 383 - 412
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2015 

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