Canadian Politics - Political Parties in Canada

What is a political party? (name the 5 features - Palombara and Weiner)

sustainable organization (outlives a single leader)

a local and highly visible organization. with direct links to the centre/ leadership

multiple institutional layers (local, regional, national)

Willingness to take power (not just influence it like lobby groups, Bloc)

Seeks popular support

+promotion of a more or less coherent ideology

What is the Malcolmson definition of a political party?

“political parties are publicly organized groups of people who are motivated by some common set of political ideas and whose goal is to have their particular members win public office, so that those ideas can be put into practice”

there is also the existence of x parties?

anti-system/ protest parties (Bloc Quebecois, Reform Party, Canadian Alliance)

T/F political parties have no constitutional existence in Canada

true - but the institutional architecture promotes their existence - independent MPs have very little power/influence, government vs opposition in the parliament

What are the 5 functions of political parties? RFIPPE

recruitment, fundraising, interest aggregation, policy development, political education

Recruitment:

" parties recruit people into the party as members and, sometimes, as candidates. This recruitment function is obviously crucial, for modern democracies are constantly imperiled by apathy and lack of civic participation” (Malcolmson et al., 2021: 137)

“The parties supply us with our political leaders through national leadership conventions, our candidates by means of constituency nominations, and the vast number of campaign workers needed to run all the aspect of a modern election” (Malcolmson et al., 2021: 138)

Fundraising (name 3 regulations)

parties raise money for their organizations and election campaigns - contribution limits, tax credits, spending limits, reimbursements

What are the contribution limits of fundraising?

“Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents can donate to a party, candidate, or nomination candidate” +$ limits

Describe tax credits aspect of fundraising

donation of 400$, tax credit of 300$

Describe spending limit aspect of fundraising

expense limits = # electors / riding + length of campaign (± 100k per candidate)

Describe the reimbursements aspect of fundraising

<10% of support/ riding or 2% of total votes = 60% reimbursement of expenses

T/F - in Canada, we fund the existence of political parties

True - their existence is subsided by the gov

Interest Aggregation:

“[...] parties identify, represent, and attempt to balance the diverse interests of Canadians” (Malcolmson et al., 2021: 138)

- they develop and promote a more or less coherent ideological view

-some parties are more flexible (Libs) than others, want to govern so willing to compromise

Policy Development:

“In the process of attempting to aggregate interests and integrate them into a national whole, the parties formulate and influence public policy”

-Political platforms* - dont need to be in power for these policies to be implemented Ex. Libs took healthcare policy from the NDP

Political Education:

“parties educate people about political life. Party membership provides an education in holding political office by means of providing elected offices within the party”

*Germany - by law ¼ of funding goes to education

T/F political education in Canada is partisan

True - only for members

What are the 2 (+1) sections within political parties (name)?

the parliamentary wing, the extra-parliamentary wing, and the non-affiliated supporters

Describe the parliamentary wing?

-Caucus / parliamentary leadership (cabinet or shadow cabinet) elected candidates

-the party leader (powerful regardless of opposition of executive - shadow cabinet scrutinizes certain ministries)

the most powerful section - “To the extent that the parliamentary wing of the party is best positioned to guide the party toward electoral success, it will continue to exercise a dominant role within the party”

describe the extra-parliamentary wing

the non-elected, democratic life of the party, not as powerful as it used to be in the 60’s (everything revolved around party conventions - conventions guide party leaders)

Who is the extra-parliamentary wing comprised of?

the party president, executive, conventions, local and regional executives, employees, candidates

describe non-affiliated supporters

The electorate ex. 2015 liberal race maximized legitimacy (supporter not member) - see OneNote

Name the three types of political parties

Elite-based parties, mass-based parties, and catch-all parties

Describe elite-based parties

only one “section” the parliamentary wing (party does not exist between elections, no party conventions, securing membership etc…)

local elites had lots of power - no mass communication yet

local issues magnetized

no clear ideology - what differentiated parties was how local leaders addressed local issues - all saying different things, no manifesto

Describe mass-based parties

creation of the extra-parliamentary wing (between both WW’s up to the 80’s)

fuelled by mass support

definition of clear political ideology - attributed to mass-based technology

T/F mass-based parties are when the pan-Canadian conception of politics emerged, leading to catch-all parties

True

Describe catch-all parties

flexibile ideology (conservative and NDP voters are more ideological in voting tho harder for these electorates to accept flexible ideology)

#1 priority = electoral gains

“presidentilization” of politics (leaders is powerful)

leaders as brokers - job is to break deals between different factions in society (libs are called this “brokers in chief” - Trudeau)

similar to elite-based parties as those leaders acted as brokers as well

Name the 5 features of a party system (voting system impacts this)

1) nature of relationship between the political parties

2) a specific time/political environment (party systems are not eternal)

3) political culture (ideologies, relative power of the leaders, supporters, media)

4) # of political parties

5) their relative strength/ chances of having at least a few candidates elected

What are the 2 most important features of a party system?

-number of political parties

-their relative strength/ chances of having at least a few candidates elected

What are the 3 types of party systems? name them

single party system, two-party system, multi-party system

Describe a single party system

one political party is clearly predominant (not one party democracies)

Describe a two-party system

regular alternance between two typical political parties + very limited space for emerging parties

Describe a multi-party system

more than 2 parties have a chance to make significant electoral gains

Describe the features of the first party system in Canada

a two party system: conservatives/ liberals - two main actors Macdonald and Laurier

elite-based parties: no extra-parliamentary wing between elections, no clear views - local issues mattered most

Clientelism: rewarding supporters by controlling public resources (jobs, legislations - basically corruption)

Brokerage politics: as there was no clear cut ideological platforms at that point

When did the first party system in Canada come to an end

1920

When did the second party system in Canada come to an end? start?

1960; 1920

Describe the features of the second party system in Canada

single party system: liberals dominated that era and became the natural governing party

brokerage politics: still very important (fades after WW2)

Emerging parties: commonwealth co-operation federation - ancestor of the NDP (60’s) grew in importance (technically a multi-party system dominated by 1 party, social credit:

Emerging dividing lines in society: class (farmer (social credit) + workers (NDP) / capitalistst and regional lines - east and west (no pan-Canadian vision yet)

Describe the 3rd party system

single party system: liberals still the natural governing party

national/pan-Canadian vision: Keynesianism - liberals, conservatives, NDP expand beyond initial regions - no changing messages (mass based party), Canada stops seeing themselves as British subjects, = Canadian, multiculturalism -new communication technologies: more coherent ideology/platform

Development of the extra-parliamentary wing: existed at the time of the second party system - mass based parties

what year did the third party system start? end?

1960; 1990

Describe Keynesianism

The market economy is good, but need the state in times of recession

Describe the fourth party system

a multi-party system: regionalism + the end of the pan-Canadian vision (emergence of the Bloc marks this) + brokerage politics and new political marketing /targeted campaign - gathering of info on voters, public opinion polls, etc..

Bloc Quebecois emerges in 1993 - 54 MPs out of 75 her majesty’s opposition libs formed gov tho because bloc highly regional

Reform party emerges -1993- 52 MPs, Canadian Alliance - formed out of Reform party

Liberal party: in steady decline, but still governing

2003→ Harper and the New conservative party (fusion of PC and Canadian Alliance) reunited conservatives

When did the 4th party system begin? did it end?

1990 to present, but unsure if we are in the midst of a 5th party system

What types of parties in the 4th party system of Canada?

catch-all parties + mass-based parties

What other key aspect was part of the 4th party system of Canada? describe

Neo-liberalism: market logic for all socio-economic issues (supply + demand), no state intervention in the economy (casts shadow on keynesianism), fundamentally individualistic perspective, state is always to big

5th party system?

too close to identify, something has changed, libs still win and are strategic, multi-party system, different voting patterns e. 2011 orange wave, realigning election