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This article studies the claims for non-territorial autonomy (NTA) of Canada's francophone minority communities (FMCs)—encompassing the over one million French-speaking citizens that live outside the province of Québec—before the courts since the adoption of theCharter of Rights and Freedoms. The findings show that Canadian courts have sought to apply principles of NTA to accommodate FMCs by extending the Canadian language rights regime in order to apply some principles of non-territorial autonomy, in the form of ‘institutional completeness’. In so doing, the courts have opened the door to a legal recognition of positive group rights for this minority. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the establishment of Aboriginal self-government in Canada, which constitutes a major piece of unfinished business for the Canadian federation. It examines the four different models of Aboriginal government including the public government federal option, "mini-municipalities," a third order of government institutions, and nation-to-nation relations. Arguments related to the further concurrency of powers and asymmetries in Canadian's intergovernmental relation is discussed.