Comparing employment policy governance regimes in Canada and the European Union

Abstract

This article assesses the performance of Canada's employment policy governance regime post-1996 by explicitly comparing Canadian approaches to those used in the European Union (EU) through the open method of coordination (OMC). It concludes that Canada has moved so far along the decentralization continuum - with 13 provincial systems as well as a federal-only system in place - that coordination, coherence, mutual learning and information sharing on a pan-Canadian basis have been lost. While EU OMC approaches hold promise, to be realized stakeholders would need to become more engaged in the policy domain and provinces, rather than the federal government, must take the initiative for enhanced coordination. © The Institute of Public Administration of Canada/L'Institut d'administration publique du Canada 2013.