The literature's on federalism, integration, and political development all tend to present the progressive centralization of popular allegiance and political power over time as the normal and expected pattern of the history,experience of federations and other states. Canada is an on going federation which does not conform to this model. Canada's Internternal fragmentation's seem at least as compelling as ever, even after more than a century of federal union. Yet the federation has managed to endure while maintaining its divisions. In recent years certain Canadian provinces have become increasingly assertive and persuasive advocates of full autonomy in fields of provincial jurisdiction. They have also sought the fiscal capacity to implement this authority. For a number of reasons some provinces have induced the federal government to abandon its practice of unilaterally making policy in fields of provincial jurisdiction. Because the federal government retains an interest in these services (which include health, welfare, and education), and because some other fields of mutual concern (notably natural resources) are under joint supervision, direct negotiation between executives of federal and provincial governments has become a familiar characteristic of the federal system since the middle 1960's. This new development in federal-provincial relations is often called executive federalism. The study comprises a case study analysis of the evolution of the federal-provincial relationship in one jurisdiction, between the federal government and one province, over a specified time period. Federal and Ontario government files, and interviews with civil servants, supply most of the research material. The immediate objective is a preliminary assessment of how and how well the two sets of government executives have accommodated their conflicting interests in the university field. Ultimately, such a finding suggests some generalizations about how the Canadian federal system is evolving and is being perpetuated in a period when disagreement between federal and provincial governments is the most intense in Canada's history. A set of terms is introduced as analytic tools to assist in a discussion of the dynamic social environment in which federal systems operate. Such an exercise facilitates the attainment of a new perspective on the re lative status of the two levels of government in Canada at this time, and helps to promote an appreciation of the proper strategy for managing intergovernmental conflict. These tools may prove useful in future comparative studies of intergovernmental public policy making in federal states. It is concluded that executive federalism is inevitable and workable in the present federal-provincial climate. In any case, no practical alternative now exists or is likely to appear soon. Although both federal and provincial governments have sacrificed their interests to some degree in executive federalism, only the federal government has surrendered fiscal and jurisdictional manoeuvrability. It is suggested that the federal government consider bringing the provinces into the making of policy in federal fields of provincial concern. Such an alteration of executive federalism might weaken provincial government resistance to continued federal involvement in provincial jurisdictions, and thereby lessen conflict in federal-provincial relations and safeguard the federal government's remaining leverage in provincial fields. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)