The article discusses how Conservative leader Stephen Harper promised "Open Federalism" during his 2005 campaign to improve relations between the federal government and provinces. However, after three Conservative governments, it seems they actually focused on centralizing economic and security policies while withdrawing from social policy. This strained relationships with provinces and minority nations. The Liberal government elected in 2015 distanced themselves from this approach to rebuild better intergovernmental relations. The first year of the Liberal government was crucial in determining if this change would continue.