2022/06/01 by Anthony M. Sayers, Anthony Sayers, Christopher Alcantara +2
Social Sciences · #Local Government Finance and Decentralization #Political Systems and Governance #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · doi:10.1111/capa.12461
openalex publication_date 2022/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Abstract Scholars who study centralization and decentralization in Canada usually rely on the distribution of authority and financial/human resources to identify transfers of “power to” and “power over” among different levels of government. We argue that patterns of non‐financial asset ownership are a useful yet frequently overlooked measure of “power to.” We demonstrate that Canadian municipal policy responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic were shaped in part by the physical assets owned by municipal and provincial governments. These patterns of non‐financial asset ownership reveal Canadian municipalities to be more important policy actors than typically assumed. A full understanding of the distribution of power within the Canadian federation requires attention to government ownership of physical assets.