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From a vantage point fifteen to twenty years after a number of scholars labeled the intergovernmental climate of the mid/late 1990s as "collaborative federalism," this article re-assess the appropriateness of this label. Looking particularly at social policy, we consider the process of col- laboration itself, both in terms of the institutions and forums where the federal and provincial partners to the collabora- tion met (have initial attempts to grow the apparatus of intergovernmental negotiations had lasting effects), and in terms of the culture and relationships involved (have prov- inces and the federal government negotiated in ways that place the two orders of government on equal footing, or have they reverted to a hierarchical relationship). The article also considers whether provincial and federal governments pro- duced collaborative policy outcomes, given their pledges to do so, as elaborated in a series of intergovernmental agree- ments. We find that the "collaborative" of collaborative federalism comes to look quite thin, particularly compared to the definition of collaboration advanced by scholars a decade ago. We conclude with some brief reflections on what the lack of collaboration in collaborative federalism means for the broader taxonomic question of how we understand the intergovernmental relations of these years, and suggest that a more accurate descriptor might be the unraveling of competitive federalism.

"Regional dynamics and federalism lie at the heart of Canadian politics. In Open Federalism Revisited, James Farney, Julie M. Simmons, and a diverse group of contributors examine the legacy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in areas of public policy, political institutions, and cultural and economic development. The volume examines how these areas significantly affected the balance between shared-rule and self-rule in Canada's federation and how broader changes in the balance between the country's regions affected institutional arrangements. An excellent framework for analyzing federalism, this text engages with four questions: 1) did the Harper government succeed in changing Canadian federalism? 2) how big was the difference between the change Harper's government envisioned and what it actually achieved? 3) was the Harper government's approach substantially different from that of previous governments? and 4) given that most chapters find that Harper's legacy is one of mostly incremental change, why was his ability to change the system so relatively minor? With attention to such topics as political culture, the role of political parties in regional integration, immigration policy, environmental policy, and health care, Open Federalism Revisited evaluates exactly how much changed under a Prime Minister who came into office with a clear desire to steer Canada back towards an older vision of federalism."--

"Public reporting has been used experimentally in federal-provincial relations since the mid-1990s as an accountability mechanism to promote policy effectiveness, intergovernmental cooperation, and democratic legitimacy. Our understanding of how well it is working, however, remains limited to very specific policy sectors - even though this information is essential to policy makers in Canada and beyond. Overpromising and Underperforming? offers a deeper analysis of the use of new accountability mechanisms, paying particular attention to areas in which federal spending power is used

Drawing on the experiences of other federal systems and multilevel governance structures, the contributors investigate how public reporting has been used in various policy fields and the impact it has had on policy-making and intergovernmental relations