That started in the early nineties with the program review in the first restructuring of the federal government, and then there was a gradual shift in the system of grants and contributions. A blue-ribbon panel studied and assessed the fact that government funding is less functional. There are a lot of accountability rules, so it's not a useful mechanism for supporting organizations. That's part of the story.
It has also shifted since 2006 with the election of the Conservative government. There has been a shift away from funding groups that do political representation, that engage in that form of advocacy activity. That has created some strain, certainly on national organizations, but it has trickled down to provincial organizations as well.
Then, at the provincial level, it varies from one province to another. In Quebec, the voluntary sector, the community sector, is actually quite strong, because the provincial government continues to fund through grants and contributions but they also have special funds set aside for advocacy and political representation, and then it varies from one province to another. But there has been a shift since the early nineties.