Which federal law guarantees a shared set of features and a minimum level of health-care coverage?

As the country got richer, it could afford to help people in need. Health care is the clearest example. The Canada Health Act makes sure that coverage across the country shares certain elements and meets a basic standard. Support for people out of work came earlier. The federal government brought in unemployment insurance in 1940. The name of that program later changed to employment insurance. Social assistance grew step by step, paid for by a stronger economy.

Pensions also arrived in stages. Old Age Security was first planned as early as 1927. Then, in 1965, two new plans began: the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan. Together they give retired people an income. Education works in a different way. Ottawa does not run the schools. Each province and each territory provides and pays for publicly funded education. That is why school systems are not identical across Canada.