Open Federalism: Harper's unlikely addition to the history of Canadian politics1. IntroductionPrime Minister Stephen Harper is attempting to further decentralize the Canadian government with what he calls open federalism. This essay will begin with a discussion of the evolution of Canadian federalism, then exclusively compare Harper's approach to the approach of Liberal governments, and finally explain why Stephen Harper's “open federalism” methodology is the most controversial form of Canadian federalism until now. The origin of Canadian federalism2.1. The Settlement of Confederation The Settlement of Confederation was written into the British North America Act of 1867. The principal architect of the document, Sir John A. Macdonald, "intended the new country to be a highly centralized federation" (Dyck, 433), and hence the notion of Canadian federalism. The Founding Fathers shaped Canadian federalism from mercantile monarchy, Court Whigs, and a renewal of counter-revolutionary transplantation (Gagnon, 22 – 25). In February 1865, in a debate in the Parliament of United Canada, the Fathers of Confederation proposed their model: “We have formed a scheme of government which combined the advantages of giving us the strength of a legislative union and the sectional freedom of a union federal" (Parliamentary debates, 32). The Confederation Agreement “consisted of five major components: the division of powers between the central and provincial governments, the division of financial resources, federal controls imposed on the provinces, provincial representation in central institutions, and certain cultural guarantees” (Dyck , 433 ).2.2. Division of Powers The Fathers of Confederation enlisted all remnants p...... half of document ...... Lazar, Harvey. “Spending Power and the Harper Government.” Hein Online. 34 Queen's LJ 125 2008-2009Mallory, JR. 1965. “The Five Faces of Federalism.” In P. A. Crepeau and C. B. Macpherson (eds.) The future of Canadian federalism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. “Prime Minister promotes open federalism.” Prime Minister of Canada. Np, April 21, 2006. Web. July 15, 2014. .Stevenson, Garth. “Canadian Federalism: The Myth of the Status Quo.” Reinventing Canada: 21st century politics. Ed. M. Janine Brodie and Linda Trimble. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2003. 204-14. Print.Stevenson, Garth. "Federalism and intergovernmental relations". Canadian politics in the 21st century. Ed. Michael S. Whittington and Glen Williams. Scarborough, Ontario: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2000. 85-1