About Levels of Government
The section explains the respective roles of the three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal (or local).
What does municipal government do?
In New Brunswick, municipal government (also called local government) is responsible for the following:
- Civil order, noise, public nuisance
- Garbage collection & recycling
- Land use planning, building inspection, zoning
- Parks & recreation (sports fields, arenas, community centers, docks, pools, etc.)
- Public transit (through the Regional Service Commission)
- Public safety (police, fire, animal control, by-law enforcement, emergency management)
- Transportation (road, street, curb, and sidewalk construction & maintenance, snow management, etc.)
- Unsightly and dangerous premises
- Water and wastewater service (pipes, lift stations, lagoons, etc.)
In Five Rivers, streets and roads outside Rexton are the responsibility of the provincial government.
What does the provincial government do?
The provincial government of New Brunswick is responsible for the following services:
- Agriculture
- Aquaculture and fisheries
- Consumer protection
- Economic development
- Education (schools, colleges, childhood development)
- Energy production and utilities
- Health care (hospitals, clinics, ambulance services, etc.)
- Indigenous affairs
- Justice and public safety (policing, provincial judiciary, courts, prisons/jails)
- Natural resource protection
- Social development (public housing, employment assistance, etc.)
- Tourism, heritage, culture (including libraries, museums, and provincial parks)
- Transportation (provincial roads and highways, bridges and ferries, vehicle registration)
- Waste management, recycling
- Worker’s compensation (including WorkSafeNB)
What does the federal government do?
The federal government of Canada addresses national issues and policies through programs and regulations (or laws), including:
- Economic policy (income taxation, banking, currency, debt, etc.)
- Federal judiciary (including the Supreme Court of Canada)
- Foreign affairs (foreign policy, international agreements, embassies, etc.)
- Immigration
- Indigenous affairs
- National defense (army, air forces, navy, special forces)
- National parks
- Policing (RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS)
- Postal services
- Social security (Canada pension, employment insurance, child tax benefits, etc.)
- Telecommunications (telephone, television, satellite, internet, etc.)
- Trade (interprovincial and international, trade agreements, tariffs, etc.)
- Veteran affairs
Which responsibilities are shared?
In Canada, all three levels of government play a role in delivering the following services:
- Economic development
- Emergency management
- Energy production, utilities
- Housing development
- Human rights (equality, diversity, inclusion)
- Parks and recreation
- Policing and public safety
- Tourism, culture, heritage
- Transportation (streets, roads, highways)