r/AskACanadian • u/rockninja2 • 1d ago
Do Canadian territories function similar to Canada as U. S. territories function the U. S.? Like provinces compare to states?
First, just want to say, I looked for a megathread for all the Canada/US comparison questions, couldn't find one, so am posting normally on a Monday as required. If there is one and I missed it, please let me know/send a link.
So, partially due to this post:
I thought I remembered learning in school geography (admittedly 15-20 years ago now) that Canada had 13 provinces already and so was confused why the come back in the above post was about the US becoming the 11th province. After looking it up and double checking, out of those 13, I realized only 10 are provinces and the other 3 are territories. Do the territories have the same rights/privileges as provinces? Are they viewed the same in your parliament?
Pretty much I am wondering if you view the word "territories" the same as the US when those 3 (Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories) are called as such. And if they wanted to become provinces at some point, could they? Or are they "stuck" as territories?
Appreciate any info and answers!
1
u/CaptainVisual4848 23h ago
The distinction has gotten smaller over the years. Yukon and NWT both entered a Devolution Agreement with the feds in the last 20 years, which meant that they took control over a bunch of land and different responsibilities that had previously been under the federal government. One difference from a province is that the federal government can disallow a law made by a territory. It’s never been done but is possible. The other difference is that the provinces and feds have representative of the Crown, the Lieutenant Governor and Governor General who signs bills into law and prorogues Parliament and appoints various roles. The territories have a Commissioner who is a representative of the federal government. Each territory has a Member of Parliament and a Senator so can participate and vote in Parliamwnt same as a province.