Towards Cross-Border Environmental Policy Spaces in North America: Province-State Linkages on the Canada-U.S. Border

A growing number of case studies have painted a picture of a burgeoning network of subnational and cross-border regional environmental linkages along the Canada-United States border, a development which may indicate an evolution in governance arrangements such that cross-border environmental policy spaces are being created. In addition to increasing in number, this literature suggests that cross-border interactions have become more formalized, more functionally intense and increasingly multilateral, or regional, in orientation. This paper explores in a comprehensive, cross-regional manner the finding of these case studies with regard to the extent and intensity of subnational activity by examining the findings of a 2005 survey of environmental linkages between states and provinces along the Canada-U.S. border. The survey findings indicate that subnational and regional interactions have been institutionally and functionally ‘intact’ for longer than most observers of Canada-U.S. environmental relations might expect. One of the most interesting findings is that subnational and regional cross-border environmental linkages, contrary to conventional wisdom, have become more numerous over time but not necessarily more intense in functional terms. Moreover, as expected, environmental linkages are clearly regionally concentrated; clusters of highly linked states and provinces can be found along the Canada-U.S. border, particularly in New England, the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest. Each of the clusters – or environmental regions – exhibits unique characteristics in terms of the extent and intensity of cross-border linkages

Canada’s multiple voices diplomacy in climate change negotiations: a focus on Québec

Abstract: This article sheds light on the complexity of international climate change negotiations in a federal country, like Canada, where there is no clear attribution of full power over international negotiation concerning this issue. Climate change is a multi-level and multi-stakeholder issue, one that can only be tackled successfully if all actors, at all levels of government, are involved in the process. In recent years, Canadian provinces, especially Québec, have become intensely involved in climate change paradiplomacy. That situation has led to a Canadian paradox where the Government of Québec worked to respect the Kyoto Protocol and act accordingly, while Canada opted out of the Protocol in 2011

La politique canadienne en matière de changements climatiques et l'influence nord-américaine

Cet article porte sur l’influence du contexte nord-américain sur la politique canadienne relative aux changements climatiques à l’aide de trois indicateurs : les actions ou les déclarations qui expriment la volonté des gouvernements canadiens de mettre en oeuvre une coopération transfrontalière en matière de politique climatique, les actions ou les déclarations d’acteurs privés qui ont pour but de demander aux gouvernements du Canada d’harmoniser leurs politiques avec celles des États-Unis, et le degré de convergence des politiques des deux pays. Les auteurs en concluent qu’au Canada, le contexte nord-américain a considérablement influencé les politiques relatives aux changements climatiques aux échelons fédéral, provincial et intergouvernemental (fédéral-provincial), bien que cette influence se soit exercée d’une manière différente aux niveaux intergouvernemental et infranational et que des facteurs politiques, économiques et institutionnels intérieurs soient intervenus.This article explores the North American influence on Canadian climate change policy through a study of three indicators: actions or statements showing Canadian governments’ willingness to cooperate on climate policy across borders; actions or statements by Canadian non-state actors recommending that Canada should harmonize its policies with the United States (US); and the extent of policy convergence between Canada and the US. The authors find that climate change policy in Canada at the federal, provincial, and national (joint federal-provincial) levels has been significantly influenced by its North American context, albeit differently at national and sub-national levels and conditioned by domestic political, economic and institutional factors