Category: Feature

Unpacking Gender’s Role in Political Representation in Canada

This entry is part 5 of 11 in the series Vol 38 No 2 (Summer)

Unpacking Gender’s Role in Political Representation in Canada

The story of women’s political representation in Canada has generally been told as one of progress. While substantial progress has been made, particularly in recent years, there have also been periods of stagnation. In this article, the author interrogates a theory of demand and supply with respect to candidate recruitment strategies. She writes that the undersupply of women candidates does not have to do with voter preferences, but rather partisan selection processes, media-influenced gender norms, and the kinds of issues which dominate political discourse. She concludes that a demand and supply model of political recruitment provides a useful framework for understanding variation in women’s political underrepresentation in Canada.

In recent years much of the research into women’s political representation has focussed on the tremendous growth in the number of countries, now standing at over one hundred, that have adopted gender quotas as a means of increasing the number of women in legislatures around the world.1 But in the absence of such quotas, how well do women do politically? To what extent, for instance, does women’s political representation vary in Canada, where there are no formal legislative requirements for ensuring minimal numbers of women candidates on the ballot? And what are the primary forces shaping when and whether women are recruited into politics in Canada, given the absence of any such formal requirements?

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For the record… On being a woman involved in parliamentary politics

This entry is part 7 of 11 in the series Vol 38 No 2 (Summer)

For the record… On being a woman involved in parliamentary politics

If a male member of Parliament says anything foolish it is forgotten the next day, but if a woman does it, it is repeated endlessly, right across the country

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Celebrating BC’s First 100 Women Members of the Legislative Assembly

This entry is part 2 of 12 in the series Vol 38 No 1 (Spring)

Celebrating BC’s First 100 Women Members of the Legislative Assembly

Approaching the 100th anniversary of the election of BC’s first woman Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2018, the author reflects on some of the achievements of the first 100 women MLAs elected in the province. She notes that these women have often proven to be excellent role models for young people aspiring to a career in politics and public service.

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Constituency Office Security: A Best Practices Guide for Parliamentarians

This entry is part 4 of 12 in the series Vol 38 No 1 (Spring)

Constituency Office Security: A Best Practices Guide for Parliamentarians

In this article, the author discusses the particular security challenges encountered when establishing and managing a constituency office. Drawing on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Investigative/Liaison Unit’s best practices, he outlines steps constituency office staff can take proactively to secure their work places from potential disruptions.

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Harper’s New Rules Revisited: A Reply to Knopff and Snow

This entry is part 5 of 12 in the series Vol 38 No 1 (Spring)

Harper’s New Rules Revisited: A Reply to Knopff and Snow

This article offers a response to arguments put forward by Rainer Knopff and Dave Snow in the Canadian Parliamentary Review about the 2008 prorogation controversy. In “‘Harper’s New Rules’ for Government Formation: Fact or Fiction?” (Vol. 36, No. 1), Knopff and Snow dismiss the theory that the Conservative government and its well-known supporters in the punditry believed that changes in partisan control of parliamentary government could only occur following fresh elections, thereby establishing “new rules”. Instead, they suggest the arguments of government supporters at the time, most notably those of political scientist Tom Flanagan, fit within the mainstream of Canada’s parliamentary tradition and engaged with an “older consensus” articulated by constitutional expert Eugene Forsey in The Royal Power of Dissolution. In his response to this piece, the author is critical of Flanagan’s engagement with Forsey’s book-length argument and suggests Forsey’s conditions for dissolving parliament and holding a new election were not met in the face of the proposed coalition government in 2008.

What constitutional sense can we make of the prorogation controversy of December 2008? Prime Minister Harper claimed that the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition could not take power without a fresh election. Anything short of a vote flouted democratic principles. Conservative talking points alleged this amounted to a ‘coup d’état.’ Opinion writers Tom Flanagan1 and Michael Bliss2 jumped into the fray, Flanagan alleging that the coalition’s “apologists didn’t pay attention in Political Science 101” and instead promoted a “head-spinning violation of democratic norms.”3 The opposition’s conceit, maintained Bliss, was that “they can legally succeed in what millions of Canadians see as the overturning of the outcome of the democratic election, and do it without giving Canadians the ultimate say in the matter.”4 Could not governments change hands without fresh elections? Though coalition governments at the federal level have mostly been the exception, one would think that this was entirely consistent with Canadian parliamentary traditions.

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Changing House: The Law Affecting A Move Between Elected Offices

This entry is part 6 of 12 in the series Vol 38 No 1 (Spring)

Changing House: The Law Affecting A Move Between Elected Offices

This paper identifies, by jurisdiction, statutory provisions that affect holders of elected office intending to stand as candidates for another legislative (or local) office. It is hoped this compact account of dual-office law will be of particular use to those interested in moving into or out of provincial politics.

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Are E-petitions a Viable Tool for Increasing Citizen Participation in Our Parliamentary Institutions?

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series Vol 37 No 4 (Winter)

Vol 37 No 4Are E-petitions a Viable Tool for Increasing Citizen Participation in Our Parliamentary Institutions?

Although some experts have suggested legislatures should be cautious about moving to internet voting until challenges with secrecy and security, voter verification, auditability and cost-effectiveness are addressed, the author suggests that electronic petitions may offer an incremental step toward broader engagement with voters online. This article reviews current e-petitions systems, the difference between qualitative and quantitative systems, technical challenges and the potential benefit of encouraging voter participation. The author concludes by listing the best practices to consider when developing an e-petitions system.

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Online Political Activity in Canada: The Hype and the Facts

This entry is part 2 of 9 in the series Vol 37 No 4 (Winter)

Online Political Activity in Canada: The Hype and the Facts

How do Canadians engage with the political content provided by governments, political parties and parliamentarians in Canada? Employing data from the 2014 Canadian Online Citizenship Survey, this article explores how Canadians use digital communications to become informed about, discuss and/or participate in politics. The results suggest that less than half of respondents use the Internet to engage in Canadian politics and while governments, politicians and parties have made extensive forays into cyberspace, politics is a minor online activity for Canadians.

Over the last two decades, there has been a revolution in communication technology with the widespread adoption of computer networks and digital technologies. There are very few areas of society, economics and culture that have remained untouched by these technologies. Not surprisingly, digital technologies have also infiltrated the world of Canadian politics. They have changed how representative institutions communicate and respond to citizens. In the mid-1990s, government departments, political parties and parliamentarians across Canada began creating websites in order to inform and, potentially, engage citizens. More recently, social media, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, have become mainstays of political communication in Canada. Indeed, as of October 2014, 80 per cent of federal Members of Parliament were using Twitter. One can also follow tweets of the Senate of Canada and the Library of Parliament. While we know much about the online presences of governments, political parties and parliamentarians in Canada,1 less is known about the extent to which Canadians engage with the political content provided by these different actors.2

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