About Levels of Government

In Canada, there are three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal. Each level is responsible to provide a set of services and a body of regulation (or law) for their constituencies.

In New Brunswick, municipal government, which is also called local government, is responsible for the following:

• Transportation (road, street, curb, and sidewalk construction & maintenance, snow management, etc.)
• Public transit (through the Regional Service Commission)
• Water and wastewater (pipes, lift stations, lagoons, etc.)
• Public safety (police, fire, animal control, by-law enforcement, emergency management)
• Garbage collection & recycling
• Parks & recreation services (sports fields, arenas, community centres, docks, pools, and so on)
• Civil order, noise, public nuisance, unsightly and/or dangerous premises
• Land use, planning, development, building inspection, and zoning

In Five Rivers, transportation services are the responsibility of the provincial government.

The provincial government of New Brunswick is responsible for the following services:

• Health care (hospitals, clinics, ambulance services, etc.)
• Education (secondary schools, colleges, early childhood development)
• Social development (public housing, employment assistance, etc.)
• Economic development, grant programs
• Justice and public safety (policing, provincial judiciary, courts, prisons & jails, etc.)
• Agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries
• Transportation (provincial roads and highways, bridges and ferries, vehicle registration, etc.)
• Tourism, heritage and culture (including libraries, museums, and provincial parks)
• Energy production and utilities, natural resource protection
• Waste management & recycling
• Consumer protection
• Worker’s compensation (including WorkSafeNB)
• Human rights (including equality, diversity, inclusion)
• Indigenous affairs

The federal government of Canada addresses national issues and policies through programs and regulations (or laws), including:

• Defense and policing (army, air forces, navy, RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS)
• Economic policy (income taxation, banking, currency, debt, etc.)
• Social security (Canada pension, employment insurance, child tax benefits, etc.)
• Trade (interprovincial and international, trade agreements, tariffs, etc.)
• Foreign affairs (foreign policy, international agreements, embassies, etc.)
• Veteran affairs
• Indigenous affairs
• Immigration
• National parks
• Postal services
• Telecommunications (telephone, television, satellite, internet, etc.)
• Federal judiciary (including the Supreme Court of Canada)