Canadian Politics Key Terms - ALL

Socialism

a critique of capitalism, a commitment to the collective and the social. Individual freedom requires economic justice

Liberalism

focus on individual freedoms, belief that the government should protect individual liberty. Key concern is the legitimacy of state based limitations to liberty (equality, equity)

Conservatism

a philosophy about change, worried about structure and order, change should happen slowly 'conserving'

Fragment Theory

Hartz - the idea that nations which originated as settler colonies are 'fragments' of the original European nation that founded them. i.e., French Canada = feudal, English Canada = liberal

Red Torys

associated with Horowitz, a term used to refer to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative Conservatives

Regionalism

assumptions about the civic/political culture in Canada. Idea that there are strong regionally held beliefs in Canada - regions share a homogenous civic culture

Political Cynicism

asks if governments care about public opinion/if MPs lose touch after elections

Internal Political Efficacy

is politics too complicated to understand?

External Political Efficacy

do people like you have no say about what government does?

Equalization Transfer Program (ETP)

UCT began in 1957. Financial transfers (tax $) from the Canadian federal government to provincial governments with lower fiscal capacity. Redistributive - taxes from the more prosperous provinces go to the less prosperous (capacity, not need)

Equalization Formula

calculated via national average (avoids having large amounts from AB bc of natural resources)

Alberta Advantage

name for Alberta's very low tax rate

Unconditional transfer

no limits placed on $ - left up to the provincial government

Nationalism

a common, shared history - constructed by politics and people (linked in the present and the past)

Nation

a constructed idea

Imagined Community

Anderson - the nation as a flexible, constructed idea - can be reimagined (need to create an us v. them and an identity)

Ethnic Nationalism

based on shared ethnicity, common ancestry

Civic Nationalism

based on shared values, citizenship, legal rights

Federalism

a system of government where power is divided between at least two levels of government with an internal division of power, and sub-national levels (territorial divisions)

Federation

an alliance, agreement, the coming together of agents - a compact

State

a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence within a given territory

Nation-State

when the boundaries of the nation and the state overlap

Constitutional Autonomy

the ability of a regional government to govern itself according to a constitution, with certain powers or responsibilities guaranteed by that constitution

Confederation

creation of the Dominion of Canada. 1867. Creation of a compact

BNA Act 1867

created the Dominion of Canada as a federation with 4 provinces. Constitutional Amendment formally by the UK Parliament. No provincial consent required

Patriation 1982

CA 1982. A new text - added to BNA Act, but did not take away. Gives full control over constitution, including the ability to amend it, without needing approval from the British Parliament.

CA 1982 - Part V

Outlines the rules and procedures for constitutional amendments.

Default 7/50

The default rule for constitutional amendments requires approval from at least 2/3 of provinces (feds have a veto).

S41 Unanimity

Unanimous consent from the federal and all provincial governments to amend certain key issues.

1995 QC Referendum

A referendum in Quebec on whether to become an independent country.

1996 Act CA - 5 region rule

Establishes a stricter '5-region rule' for constitutional amendments requiring support from specific provinces with 50% of their populations.

Settler Colonialism

A structure - not an event; a logic of elimination and replacement.

Sovereignty

Political assertion regarding supreme authority over a territory.

Indigenous Sovereignty

The right of Indigenous peoples to govern themselves and make decisions about their lands, resources, and cultural practices.

Rule of Law Issues

Concerns about which law applies in multiple sovereign territories and the distinctive rights of Indigenous peoples.

Kaswentha

A Haudenosaunee principle of mutual non-interference, representing sovereignty.

Trudeau White Paper 1969

A policy proposal aimed at assimilating Indigenous peoples into mainstream Canadian society.

Legal Assimilation

Treating Indigenous people the same as other Canadians in terms of rights and status.

Cultural Assimilation

Erasing or blending Indigenous cultural identities with mainstream Canadian society.

SCC Calder Decision (1973)

A landmark ruling recognizing the doctrine of native title for Indigenous peoples' legal rights to traditional lands.

Indian Association of Alberta (1970)

Formally rejected the Trudeau White Paper, arguing it was an unfair attempt to erase Indigenous rights and cultures.

JBNQA (1977)

The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, Canada's first modern treaty recognizing rights to land and self-government.

Constitution Act 1982 - Part 2 (S.35)

Recognizes and affirms the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples within Canadian law.

SCC 2001 (Mitchell v. Minister of National Revenue)

Case that means Indigenous treaty rights are constrained by and junior to Canadian sovereignty.

Differentiated Citizenship

The concept that Indigenous peoples in Canada have distinct legal status and rights different from other Canadian citizens.

Multiculturalism

The ability for multiple cultures to coexist in society.

Multiculturalism Policy 1971

Federal initiative to support cultural groups, remove barriers to participation, promote cultural exchange, and encourage learning English or French.

Bilingualism

Having multiple official languages (French and English).

Biculturalism

Having two distinct cultures within a society (French and English).

Assimilation

The process by which individuals or groups adopt the culture, language, and social norms of the dominant society.

Elections

Essential for democratic legitimacy and accountability. Elections can reveal democratic preferences.

Electoral Rules

A set of rules used to determine the results of an election, including how votes translate into seats.

Non-Proportional

Winner is determined by receiving the most votes - sometimes a majority, but it doesn't need to be a majority.

Plurality Rule

Whoever gets the most votes within a district wins (does not need to be over 50%).

Majority Rule

Candidate needs over 50% of the vote to win. If 50% is not reached, then run-off may occur.

Run-Offs

Bottom candidates eliminated, and top two candidates undergo another round.

Preferential/Ranked Voting

Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no majority, the lowest ranked candidate is eliminated, and votes are redistributed.

Single Member Districts

SMD - one member from an electoral district is elected.

First Past the Post

FPTP - whoever gets the most votes wins.

Proportional

Allocates seats based on the % of votes a party receives (30% of vote = 30% of seats).

Single Transferable Vote

STV - ranked ballot where voters can rank based on individual candidate or by party, with candidates needing to reach a quota.

Party List

Voter votes for one party, and the party decides which candidates will receive the seats allocated.

Multimember District

MMD - electoral district has multiple representatives (more seats).

Hybrid Systems

Hybrid systems have been proposed to get a 'best of both' PR and Non-PR systems.

B&B Commission

1963-69: The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism - struck to counter growing sovereignty movement.

1960s Immigration Reform

Adoption of the bill of rights (protection against the grounds of discrimination), skill based immigration, white paper, and finally point system - economic immigration.

Pre 1950s Immigration

Overtly and indirectly discriminatory on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.

Strategic Voting

when voters do not vote in their true preference (i.e., not for who you actually like) in consideration of possible ballots cast by other voters in order to maximize one's satisfaction with the election's results

Regional Distortion

smaller parties concentrate their efforts in specific regions rather than competing nationwide (BQ)

Duverger's Law

PR systems lead to multiple parties (multipartisim) and Non-PR systems leads to only two parties (bipartism)

Effective # of Parties

how many 'real' parties there are in the system (Lasasko/Taagepera)

Party Systems

The configuration and interaction of political parties within a given political entity - not static - change alongside changes in electoral rules and bases of party support. Often mentioned in relation to quality of democracy and number of effective parties

Cleavage Structures

ideas, commitments, etc. that structure or divide politics

Median Voter

voter whose preferences lie at the midpoint of a single-dimensional spectrum

Single Peaked Voter Preferences

Each voter has a single point on the policy spectrum that represents their most preferred outcome

Spatial Voting Theory

the idea that there is an equilibrium on the political spectrum, and that voters will converge to the middle. Theory suggests that over time, parties will become less extreme and less distinguishable.

Median Voter Theory

political parties, in their desire to win elections, will tend to converge towards the preferences of the median voter, positioning themselves in the moderate middle of the political spectrum

Brokerage/Cadre Parties

parties built on electoral pragmatism - goal is to build broadest possible support base -- not to have an ideology. Focus is on winning elections - membership base can be flexible yet still very stable. i.e., Liberals and Conservatives

Electoral Pragmatism

attempts to attract the broadest possible support base, done by developing policies according to what would attract the most support in the short term

Insurgent Parties (ideological)

parties built on strong ideological foundations. Tend to be highly regionalized and unstable (whack-a-mole) i.e., Bloc Quebecois

NDP as an outlier

distinct party of the left, but some changing ideological policies. Is not as volatile, has remained since its formation. Smaller, consistent, stable, party

Class Politics

divisions on the basis on socio-economic status. Can be a driving force behind the formation of political parties that explicitly represent the interests of a particular class, such as labour or working-class parties. A weak structure in Canada.

Federalist Left

The NDP. A leftist party under the federal system - calls for federal government to play a strong role

Sovereigntist Left

the left in QC. Labour movement associated with the PQ - different type of leftist, calls for removal from the federal system

Asymmetrical Federalism

A state in which different constituent states possess different powers (have more autonomy than others) i.e., Quebec in Canada

Columbia School

an explanation for vote choice. Based on long term social factors. Predicts low vote volatility, i.e., things won't change much because long term social factors don't change much. Popularized in the 50s

Michigan School

another explanation for vote choice. Based on medium to short term factors and PID. Claims that position on long term issues is less important, and focuses instead on short term political events leading up to an election.

Voting Choice

The act of an individual selecting a specific candidate or political party on an election ballot

Partisan ID/Party ID

a psychological attachment to a political party--seeing oneself as a part of the party. Generally stable over time, and has a significant effect on vote choice (Michigan School).

Funnel Voting Model

model explaining how voters make decisions, where long-term factors (e.g., ethnicity, class, education) shape Party Identification (PID), and short-term factors (e.g., candidate, issues, campaign) influence final vote choice

Partisan Competition

the rivalry between political parties as they compete for voter support in elections. It reflects how political parties mobilize their voter bases and attempt to win over undecided or weakly aligned voters.

Voter Base

a stable set of voters who are pre-disposed to vote for a particular party (core voters)

Partisanship

being a committed member of a political party

Interaction Effect

Interaction effects occur when the influence of one variable on an outcome depends on another variable. In the context of PID interaction effects show how PID interacts with other factors to shape political behavior.

Campaign Effects

refer to the ways in which election campaigns influence voter behavior, political opinions, and election outcomes. While party identification (PID) is a strong predictor of vote choice, campaigns can still have an impact by reinforcing or shifting voter preferences under certain conditions.

Partisan Sorting/Polarization

when the preferences of partisan identifiers on an issue/dimension become more uniform/distinct - a decrease in the overlap of partisan distributions

"big tent" parties

parties with low partisan sorting, big, broad ideological umbrellas (Liberals)

Ideological Polarization

More support for ideological extremes leads to fewer people occupying the center. The edges of the curve grow - either flattens out or the middle hollows out

Affective Polarization

greater divide based on emotions - a dislike/distrust of the out-party and their supporters

Opinion Formation

Zaller claims that most people do not have pre-formed opinions on all political topics/questions, and therefore their opinions can be manipulated. Three main elements: information, exposure, predispositions