ABSTRACT
The following sections demonstrate the role ethno-linguistic factors play in the operation of Canadian federalism. The way public policies function tends to be the immediate reflection of the underlying social structure. Empirical evidence shows that public policy concerns exert pressures on the political institutions to change towards congruence with the ethno-linguistic composition of the country – even if such pressures do not always translate into large-scale institutional change. In this context, the constituent linguistic/cultural communities of Canada function as default demoi bypassing the formal structures of the federation. This process is particularly visible in education and media where identity politics find their first outlet. As a result, in the absence of formal recognition, the duality of the Canadian society tends to reveal itself through the workings of the system.
