[retrac]

> The powers of the Canadian provincial governments are delegated to them from the Canadian federal government, not the other way around.

The provincial and federal governments are all sovereign, mutually bound under a single constitution. They both derive their powers in parallel from the Constitution Act.

> since it was not formed by the uniting of states wary of federal power, but rather the uniting of colonies which all considered themselves to be under the aegis of a single sovereignty (Britain).

Quebec certainly did not consider themselves under the aegis of British sovereignty. Much of confederation was effectively about assuaging the concerns of Quebeckers losing their religious, linguistic and cultural identity in an increasingly majority-English country.

In some ways, the provinces have more powers than US states. For example, provinces do have a right of secession. If the majority of Quebeckers do vote to leave at some point, the federal government has no legal power to stop them. Though Quebec can't secede unilaterally, either. Both parties would be constitutionally-bound to negotiate a mutually acceptable path to independence.