I enjoy driving to Saskatchewan. As I pass Virden, I do not need the sign welcoming me to Saskatchewan to know I am in another province. No, I can tell by the quaint provincial costumes that so uniquely mark the provinces of Canada. The purple hats and the lime green leggings of Saskatchewan men are a sure tip-off that I am in a different place.
This is silly of course, but the existence of provinces demanding that they have a “made in Saskatchewan energy policy” or a “made in Nova Scotia health policy” underscores the arbitrary nature of political and administrative divisions in delivering public policy for a federal state such as Canada. In most cases the boundaries we use to deliver public policy make little sense, do not align with unique needs of the population, and add administrative cost with little commensurate value.