CENTRALIST FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1867: IS CANADA A "QUASI-FEDERAL" STATE?

•	The Act assigned to Parliament what were then thought to be the "great subjects of legislation" in section 91 including the residuary power, in section 91 (29) ; provinces were restricted primarily to matters of a "merely local and private nature" in section 92. Parliament's powers.

•	Parliament was given power to raise money by "any Mode or System of Taxation" --section 91 (3); provincial legislatures were restricted to direct taxation and federal subsidies --in section 92 (2).

•	The Act gave Parliament paramountcy in areas of concurrent jurisdiction --e.g. agriculture and immigration in section 95; also in taxation, old-age pensions; also highway control and other areas not specifically mentioned in the written constitution.

•	Parliament given the declaratory power to make laws in relation to public works declared to be "for the general advantage of Canada or ... of two or more provinces" --
section 92(10)(c).

•	Federal government given the power to appoint provincial lieutenant governors, analogous to the federal governor general. Lieutenant governors given power to withold assent to provincial legislation reserving it for acceptance or rejection by the federal government; this is called the power of reservation ---in section 57.

•	Senators appointed by the federal government and not by the provinces— sections 24, 26.

•	Parliament given power to disallow provincial legislation— section 56.