Administrative divisions of Albion

Albion is organized along a federal model consisting of 13 constituents: The federal government, the 10 provinces and two Autonomous Nations Within Albion recognized by treaty and statute. The federal government exercises administration over two additional territories. Albion engages in numerous additional relationships with numerous smaller Indigenous Tribal Governments, though these tend to be delegated to the provinces in all cases save the Autonomous Nations.

Provinces
Provinces are the most numerous of Albion's upper-level jurisdictions, comprising 10 of the 14 jurisdictions.

The Provinces are sovereign entities, with their own inherent powers of governance derived from the Constitution Act of 1878. In theory, provinces have significant powers relative to the federal government. Provinces have authority over most "matters of a local nature." The division is roughly as follows:


 * Federal jurisdiction: Currency and monetary supply; banking; weights and measures; public debt; public works; regulation of trade and commerce; direct and indirect taxation; the postal service; national defence; national treaties; navigation and maritime issues; quarantines; the census; fisheries; inter-provincial and international ferries; intellectual property rights; citizenship and immigration; marriage and divorce; First Nations relations; criminal law; penitentiaries; interprovincial public works, including highways.
 * Provincial jurisdiction: Provincial taxation; health care and hospitals; education and schools; natural resources; civil rights; property rights; administration of civil and criminal justice; prisons; municipal governments; management of provincial parks; incorporation of companies; local and private matters.
 * Joint jurisdiction: Unemployment Insurance, Old Age Security and other welfare programs; agriculture; some elements of immigration.

In practice, provinces tend to rely on transfer payments from the federal government in order to deliver certain services considered to operate under the federal government's guidance, such as health care: Much of the funding for the universal health care system is actually derived from federal funding authority, and the federal government creates standards the provinces must meet as part of the transfer payments it delivers to the provinces to execute the program. This results in slight differences in service delivery within the Alban provinces, but the broad strokes of systems like Medicare must adhere to federal standards.

Each Province has its own Provincial Legislature and is governed by a Premier. The representative of the Crown of Albion in each Province is the Lieutenant-Governor, who is appointed by the Governor-General of Albion on the advice of the Prime Minister. While there is technically no requirement for the Prime Minister to consult with the Premier on an appointment, it is convention.

Territories
Albion incorporates two Territories but has included a number of others over the years.

Unlike provinces, the Territories have no inherent sovereignty under the Constitution Act. They have only those powers delegated by the federal government. Typically, the Territories have a Territorial Legislature and associated Premier. Rather than a Lieutenant-Governor, a Territory has a Commissioner, who acts as the representative not of the Crown, but of the federal government.

Autonomous Nations Within Albion
Albion has, since the 1960, incorporated two Autonomous Nations Within Albion.

Autonomous Nations are in some respects similar to territories, but with a larger suite of devolved powers and with a more direct relationship to the Crown. Their powers are proscribed not by the Constitution Act, but by treaty law between the Crown of Albion and a group of First Nations leaders representing an entire people within a geographic area - a totality of negotiation thus far only achieved by the Haida and Inuit peoples of Haida Gwaii and Nunavut. In practice, these powers are outlined by the Autonomous Nations Act, delineating a suite of powers similar to a province save a few:


 * An Autonomous Nation has the power to determine a national language and national holidays.
 * An Autonomous Nation has control over immigration comparable to a province.
 * An Autonomous Nation has powers comparable to a territory in matters of health care and welfare services.
 * An Autonomous Nation has the power to adjust educational standards to meet Indigenous cultural needs, within reason.

Typically, an Autonomous Nation has its own legislature and Premier, and has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Crown.