Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic

The Canadian federal system was never designed to recognize Indigenous governance, and it has resisted formal institutional change. But change has come.

Indigenous communities in the North have successfully negotiated the creation of self-governing regions, most of which have been situated politically and institutionally within existing constituent units of the Canadian federation. These varied governance arrangements are forms of nested federalism, a model that is transforming Canadian federalism as it reformulates the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state.

Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic traces the political journey toward self-governance taken by three predominantly Inuit regions over the past forty years: Nunavik in northern Québec, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Northwest Territories, and Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador. This meticulous analysis of the regions’ development trajectories provides new insight into the evolution of Indigenous self-government, as well as its consequences for Indigenous communities and for Canadian federalism.