Grade by Grade
B. Civic Awareness · Civic Awareness: Democratic Values, Governance and Rights

Who Does What? Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal Governments

B2.2About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain why Canada has two orders of government in its Constitution, and where territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments fit.
  • I can describe the main responsibilities of each government, with examples from civic issues.
  • I can describe key positions such as Prime Minister, Premier, minister, MP, MPP, mayor and councillor.
  • I can trace how several governments share a complex issue such as housing.

Words to know

order of government
A government whose powers come directly from the Constitution. Canada has two: federal and provincial.
jurisdiction
The area of responsibility in which a government has the authority to make laws.
division of powers
The split of law-making powers between the federal and provincial governments, mostly in sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
devolution
The transfer of powers from a central government to a regional one, such as from the federal government to a territory.
municipality
A city, town, township, county or region with an elected council, created by provincial law.
bylaw
A law passed by a municipal council, such as a parking or noise rule.
transfer payment
Money one government gives another, such as federal money to provinces for health care.

A morning with many governments

You wake up and turn on the tap: your municipality treats the water. You walk to school: your province funds education and sets the curriculum. You pass a mailbox: the federal government runs Canada Post. If you live in a First Nation, your band council or First Nation government may run your school or water system.

Canada has many governments because it is huge and diverse. Splitting jobs lets decisions be made closer to the people affected. The trade-off is that governments must co-operate, and sometimes they argue about who is responsible.

Remember from Grade 5

In Grade 5 you matched services to the federal, provincial and municipal governments, and learned the titles of elected representatives. This lesson adds why the division exists, the constitutional sections behind it, and how governments share hard issues.

Two orders in the Constitution

The Constitution Act, 1867 creates two orders of government: federal and provincial. Each is supreme in its own jurisdiction. Neither is the boss of the other.

  • Section 91 lists federal powers, including defence, criminal law, citizenship, currency and banking, the postal service, and "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians" (the wording of 1867). Foreign affairs is also federal. The federal government also has power to make laws for the "peace, order, and good government" of Canada in matters not given to the provinces.
  • Section 92 lists provincial powers, including hospitals, municipal institutions, property and civil rights, and the administration of justice in the province. Section 93 gives provinces education, and a 1982 amendment confirmed provincial control over natural resources.
  • Some powers are shared (concurrent): agriculture and immigration (section 95) and pensions. In practice, both orders also make laws about the environment.

The federal government also has strong spending power: it gives provinces money (transfer payments) such as the Canada Health Transfer, and attaches conditions through laws such as the Canada Health Act.

Federal(section 91)DefenceCitizenshipCriminal lawMoney and bankingPostal serviceForeign affairsProvincial(section 92)EducationHospitals andhealth servicesMunicipalitiesProperty and civil rightsNatural resourcesSharedAgricultureImmigrationPensionsEnvironment(in practice)
The division of powers. Each circle is supreme in its own area. The overlap shows shared areas, where both orders can make laws and must co-operate.

Territories, municipalities and Indigenous governments

  • Territorial governments (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut) are created by federal laws. Over time, the federal government has devolved many province-like powers to them, such as health care, education and, in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, control of land and resources.
  • Municipal governments are created by provincial law. Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006 set out what councils can do. A province can change municipal boundaries, merge municipalities or change their powers. Ontario has 444 municipalities.
  • Indigenous governments (First Nations governments, Métis governments and Inuit organizations) have their own sources of authority: their own laws and traditions, treaties, and Aboriginal and treaty rights protected in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Lesson 6 is all about them.

Key positions

  • Federal: the Prime Minister leads the government and chooses the Cabinet; ministers run departments (for example, Finance or Health); MPs represent ridings and vote on laws.
  • Provincial: the Premier leads the government; provincial ministers run ministries (for example, Education); MPPs represent ridings at Queen's Park, Ontario's legislature in Toronto.
  • Municipal: the head of council (a mayor, or in some places a reeve or warden) chairs council; councillors represent wards or the whole municipality and vote on bylaws and budgets. Since 2022, Ontario has given strong mayor powers to heads of council in Toronto, Ottawa and many other municipalities, including preparing the budget. A chief administrative officer (CAO) leads municipal staff.
  • School boards: elected trustees oversee publicly funded schools within the rules set by the province.
Province of Ontariocreates municipalities by provincial lawUpper tiera county or regionLower tiertowns, townships, cities in itSingle tierone council does it all,e.g. Toronto, OttawaUnorganized areasmostly in the North: nomunicipal governmentCouncils pass bylaws and run local services.In unorganized areas, the province deliverssome local services directly.
How local government is organized in Ontario. Many people live in a two-tier area: for example, a town handles local roads and parks, while the county or region handles services such as regional roads or social services. Exact jobs vary by place.
Worked example

Modelled example: Who is responsible for housing?

Housing is expensive in many Ontario communities. Trace how each order of government is involved.

  1. Federal: sets national mortgage rules through federal financial regulators, funds housing programs, runs the national housing agency (CMHC), and sets immigration levels, which affect demand.
  2. Provincial: writes the planning and land-use laws municipalities must follow, sets tenant and landlord rules (Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act), and funds some social housing.
  3. Municipal: passes zoning bylaws (what can be built where), approves building permits, charges development fees and runs or funds local social housing.
  4. Indigenous governments: housing on reserve is often managed by the First Nation, with much of the funding coming from the federal government.
  5. Conclusion: no single government "owns" the issue, so solutions need co-operation, and each government can blame another. Knowing who controls which part tells a citizen whom to contact.

Housing involves every order of government. Federal: mortgages, funding, immigration levels. Provincial: planning laws and tenant rules. Municipal: zoning and permits. First Nations: on-reserve housing. A citizen should match their concern to the right government.

Worked example

Modelled example: Matching services

Which government is mainly responsible for: (a) a passport; (b) a driver's licence; (c) garbage collection; (d) a hospital's funding; (e) the Criminal Code?

  1. (a) Passports relate to citizenship and foreign affairs: federal.
  2. (b) Driver's licences and highways: provincial (in Ontario, the Ministry of Transportation through ServiceOntario).
  3. (c) Garbage collection: municipal (a local service set by bylaw).
  4. (d) Hospitals are provincial (section 92), though the federal government contributes money through the Canada Health Transfer.
  5. (e) Criminal law is federal (section 91), but the provinces administer justice, including most prosecutions and courts.

(a) federal; (b) provincial; (c) municipal; (d) provincial, with federal transfer money; (e) federal law, administered largely by the provinces.

Just for fun

Ontario has a municipality officially called The Nation, in Prescott and Russell, east of Ottawa. So you could visit the nation's capital and The Nation in the same afternoon.

Hands-on activity

Service scavenger hunt

You need: paper, a pencil, and your municipality's website (a grown-up can help find it).

  1. Walk through your home and neighbourhood (or think it through). List 10 public services you see: tap water, recycling, the school, a stop sign, a mailbox, a park, a library, a hospital sign, a health card, a fire hydrant, and so on.
  2. Next to each, write the government responsible and, if shared, both.
  3. On your municipality's website, find: your ward (if any), your councillor's name, your head of council's title (mayor, reeve or warden) and the date of the next council meeting.
  4. Find out whether you live in a single-tier or two-tier municipality, or in an unorganized area.
  5. Pick one local problem (for example, a broken sidewalk) and write which office you would contact and why.

What to look for: at least 10 services with correct governments, shared services marked, and the right local contact for the problem. Note: municipal election day in Ontario is Monday, October 26, 2026; the website will list the candidates.

Your turn

1

What are the two orders of government created by the Constitution?

2

Where do municipalities get their powers?

3

How are territorial governments different from provincial governments?

4

Name two federal and two provincial responsibilities.

5

What is a bylaw? Give an example.

6

What is the role of an MPP?

7

Name two shared (concurrent) areas.

More practice: warm-up

1

Which section of the Constitution Act, 1867 lists most federal powers?

2

Which section lists most provincial powers?

3

Who leads a provincial government?

4

What do school trustees do?

5

Which government delivers mail?

More practice: on your own

1

Why might the federal government attach conditions to money it gives provinces for health care?

2

A town wants to stop a provincial highway from being widened. Who decides, and what can the town do?

3

Explain why the province can merge municipalities but cannot abolish the federal government's postal service.

4

Your neighbour complains about a pothole on a residential street and decides to call her MP. Is that the best choice? Explain.

5

Name one advantage and one disadvantage of dividing powers among several governments.

Challenge

1

Choose climate change or public transit. Trace the roles of federal, provincial and municipal governments, and suggest one way they could co-operate better.

2

Strong mayor powers let some Ontario mayors propose the budget and, in some cases, pass certain bylaws with the support of only one-third of council. Give one argument for and one against.

3

Why might a First Nation need to deal with federal, provincial and municipal governments on a single project, such as a new water treatment plant?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

How many orders of government does the Constitution create?

2.

Education in Ontario is mainly the responsibility of which government?

3.

Where do Ontario municipalities get their powers?

4.

Which is a federal responsibility?

5.

A law passed by a town council is called:

6.

Territorial governments get their powers mainly from:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation B2.2 asks students to explain, with reference to real issues, the roles of the federal and provincial orders of government, territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments, and key positions in each. This lesson covers all except Indigenous governments, which are the focus of Lesson 6.

How to help: Do the scavenger hunt together and look at your municipality's website. Ontario's municipal and school board elections are on Monday, October 26, 2026; looking at your ward's candidates together is an excellent real-world connection.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking the federal government is "above" the provinces. Each is supreme in its own jurisdiction.
  • Forgetting that municipalities depend on provincial law.
  • Shared issues (housing, health, environment) have no single answer; reward answers that show several governments.