Province vs State
The difference between province and state depends on the country in which they are a part of. Now, have you ever wondered why some countries have provinces as smaller geographical units while others have states? Is it just a difference in nomenclature or provinces have different structures of administration than states? Are states in US the same as provinces in Canada? What is the actual difference between a province and state? You will get the answers to these questions after reading this article. This article looks at the features of the two geographical units to find out the differences between a province and a state. If one looks up a dictionary, province is defined as a unit of a country that is created with administrative point of view. On the other hand, a state is also defined as a smaller territory that adds up to make a federation, such as US. However, these definitions do not clear up the situation. Let’s discuss the subject in more detail.
What is a State?
A state is a smaller territory of a country that adds up to make a federation. In the case of United States, the circumstances were unique. In the sense, the states were formed first, and they were actually independent in nature and agreed to exist as united in the form of a federation. Thus, we have United States of America, and the states here are more autonomous than states in any other country. There is no political leaning in the case of states in US as their allegiance is with the federal government. However, rights of states are better defined in the case of states in the US.
What is a Province?
A province is a unit of a country that is created with administrative point of view. Talking about Canada, it was the central government that was formed earlier. It was the constitutional act of 1867 that established smaller geographical units as provinces that were meant to be sub divisions of the country with separate administrative setups that worked under the central government. It is not just Canada that has provinces. There is another mammoth example of China as a country having huge provinces and not states. Even India before independence used to have provinces but they were changed into states through an act to the constitution. Talking about Canada in particular, some of the provinces like Quebec and Montreal owe allegiance (or at least slight leaning) towards France, whereas there are other provinces that are loyal to the sovereignty of the Queen. When it comes to the level of autonomy, we find that the level of autonomy is less in the case of provinces in Canada. Rights of provinces are not that well defined for provinces in Canada.
What is the difference between Province and State?
There is a difference between the power shown by a province and a state. However, there are undefined areas in both US and Canada that create problems when it comes to describing the division of powers between the central government and the provinces or the states.
• Definition of Province and State:
• Province is defined as a unit of a country that is created with administrative point of view.
• A state is also defined as a smaller territory that adds up to make a federation, such as US.
• Allegiance:
• Provinces show their allegiance to the central government. However, in Canada you can see that some provinces have a way of leaning to either the Queen of England or to France.
• States bear their allegiance to the the central government.
• Level of Autonomy:
• Provinces are more or so under the power of the central government. Usually, though they can take decisions provincially, they have to obey the rules of the central government.
• States are more autonomous. They can have different laws. That is why you see that sometimes something that is accepted as a crime in one state of US is not accepted as a crime in another state. They are very much independent. However, they too have to obey the central government of the country.
As you can see, both province and state have their differences that make them different entities though both are sub-divisions of a country.
Images Courtesy:
- USA by User:Wapcaplet (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Canada via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
The last paragraph, so wrong. says
So wrong. Montreal is a city WITHIN Quebec, what ended up being Quebec was given by France to the English in 1763. The whole country, including Quebec, owes allegience to the Queen of the United Kingdom.
R J Bogart says
That paragraph really illustrates that whoever wrote this does not have a clue what they are talking about. It is riddled with inaccuracies.
CanuckOnAir says
No, all Provinces in their own right and in fact the nation in its own right, pays allegiance to the Monarch of Canada not the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada, and has a distinct and separate role in the United Kingdom.
ConfusedVictim says
Wow, prime example and why not to believe anything on the net.
States are semi-autonymous, they have (and can make) their own regulations and laws but are still to an extent overseen by the country.
Provinces are overseen by administrators who ensure the province complies with the countries laws. They do not have individual laws.
Example of state/federal law, in the US, some states allow medicinal marijuana and issue permits, state police can’t touch them (their laws say it’s legal) but the federal government can.
Provinces however wouldn’t be allowed to issue permits against the laws of the country, the can only administer.
R J Bogart says
I don’t agree with many of your points. For instance, provinces do make laws that are within the responsibility and control of the province as defined in the Canadian Constitution Act (1982) and originally defined when the country was created by the British North America Act (BNA) (1867).
The BNA Act was passed to set the legal ground rules for Canada, and divvy up the powers between the provinces and the federal government.
Section 91 of the BNA Act lists the powers the federal Parliament can exercise. Section 92 lists the powers of the Provincial Legislatures. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the federal government must not make laws dealing with matters of provincial jurisdiction, and vice versa. If one party does pass a law that intrudes on the jurisdiction of the other, the courts will strike it down.
The leader of the provincial government is called a premier not an administrator. The premier is a politician and is the leader of the political party that received the majority of votes during an election.
JamesDMugg says
Canada is a federalist nation. The “provinces” are a misnomer.
Most unitary states however are seeing the benefits of a non-centralised government and becoming more federal. This is causing a bit of confusion in terms.
JohnFalcigie says
Montreal is not a providence, its a city in Quebec
Peter says
To clarify :
There is Montréal City, which is call Montreal Island. It might appear as a province but it would be one inside another one.
There is Quebec city, but there also the Province of Quebec
As for the structure of the federation, there still a great depate (since 1887) on how the Canada should be. Either a centalise gouvernement or more independancy for the province and territories