POLITICS IN CANADA.   Term Paper ID:23356 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Political parties & party system, focusing on Ontario. Ideologies, models (class & elite pluralist), history of voting behavior, leadership, future.... More...

9 Pages / 2025 Words 12 sources, 13 Citations, TURABIAN Format $36.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Political parties & party system, focusing on Ontario. Ideologies, models (class & elite pluralist), history of voting behavior, leadership, future. Paper Introduction: PARTIES AND THE PARTY SYSTEM IN ONTARIO Introduction This research examines political parties and the party system in Ontario. The ideological focus of the competing political parties, together with trends in voting behavior in Ontario are addressed along with other facets of the party system in the province. Ideological Focus of Political Parties in Ontario Within the context of ideology, political parties in Canada’s provinces tend to mirror comparable ideological differences at the federal level. Exceptions can be cited such as the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation), the predecessor to t Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. [v]Forgese, 292-3 9. H.Redekop, Approaches to Canadian government and politics, 3rd ed. The NDP has had and continuesto have a strong minority base in Ontario. Pure elitism is thought not to generallyexist within Canadian society.[iii] Elite theory holds that an elite is comprised of a relatively fewpeople within a society who have and exercise power within that socialsystem.[iv] By contrast, the masses are the many people who cannot wieldpower within a social system. In British Columbia, as an example, the NDP isone of the two major parties-in both federal and provincial elections. When stable votingpatterns are used as the indicators of partisan political partyidentification, the proportion of voters in Canada with a party politicalidentity rises to near 6 percent. "A Structural Analysis of Class Voting." Social Forces 6 (1982): 738-759.----------------------- [i]G. Partisan political party identificationin Canada, whether based on reported strong party identification or on stable voting patterns, is not as high as that found in either Britain orthe United States. [x]L. [xii]R. "Elites, and Pluralists: Power in Canada." In Redekop, J. The Irony of Democracy. [vi]diZerega, 34 -372. Withinthe concept of the elite pluralist model, competing elites determine publicpolicy through bargaining and compromise, while the voting rights of themasses enable new elites to gain a share of the power within the Canadiansocial and political systems. Rather, the fact that the Bob Rae led NDP ever formed a government inOntario should be viewed as the aberration. Using only the 198 and 1984 federal elections, a strong case could bemade for either realignment or a dealignment with respect to the Liberals.When viewed over a 4 -year time period, however, such assessments do notappear to be valid. Even in ademocracy, such as Canada, a few exercise a relatively great weight ofpower, while the many exercise hardly any at all. Mike Harris, quite unwittingly, may at last have set thestage for a major realignment of voter preferences in Ontario that willtranspire in the next provincial election in the province that must be heldby 1998. At the federal level, however, the Canadian majority has neverabandoned its fear of federal-level socialist political parties. A 1985 study of the Canadian voter found that the proportionof individuals reporting a strong identification with a political party hasincreased since 1963.[xi] The proportion of voters with a strong partyidentification approximates 27 percent in Canada. "Partisan Change and Dealignment in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States." Comparative Politics 7 (July 1985): 379-397.McAllister, I. Lanoue, and P. "Making Common Cause." Canadian Forum 73 (1994): 7-1 LeDuc, L. Zipp, and J. [xiii]J. One of the major areas of ideological difference among politicalparties in Canada is found in the concept of social class, a concept thatimplies a social elite. "Electoral Earthquake." Brookings Review 12 (Winter 1994): 46.diZerega, G. Further, the trend has been upward, with the participation ratein the more recent elections approaching 8 percent. Some observers believe that the massive Progressive Conservative winin 1984 marked another classic party realignment in Canada. Ziegler, The Irony of Democracy (Monterey,California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1987), 8. Gordon, "The Sign of Mean Times," Maclean's 1 8 (22 May1995): 13; S. During thisentire period, however, their parliamentary representation has not exceeded14 percent at the federal level. J. In defining the term "societal elite," alternativemodels, of which there are several, that describe intra societalrelationships should be considered.[i] Two such models are the class modeland the elite pluralist model. Thus, the continued strong presence of the NDP atthe provincial level in Canada is an indication that Canadian voterpreferences cover a wide spectrum of ideology. On the federal level, the NDP along with the Progressive Conservativeswere all but eliminated in the 1993 general election. [iv]T. The Liberals at both the federal level and at the provincial level inOntario essentially are a middle-of-the-road social democratic party, whilethe Progressive Conservatives are somewhat right of middle ideologically.The Progressive Conservatives in Ontario frequently are more to the rightthan are their federal counterparts. Dye, and H. This system has resulted inseveral provincial legislatures wherein no one party held an absolutemajority of the MLAs, and thus minority governments were formed.Nevertheless, either Progressive Conservatives or Liberals led all of thesecoalition governments in Ontario. "Electoral Systems, Party Composition, and Strength in Partisan Attachment: Evidence From Three Countries." Journal of Politics 56 (November 1994): 991-1 17.Dye, T. In none of these instances, however, did the ProgressiveConservative Party retained power longer than seven years. The class model, in contrast to the elite pluralist model, placesdifferent socioeconomic groups in competition and conflict with oneanother.[vi] In Britain, the Labour Party is held to represent workingclass Britons, while the Conservative Party is held to represent thebusiness and professional classes, and, to a lesser extent, thearistocracy. By contrast,the Liberals have formed the national government in 53 of the 74 yearssince 1921. Voter participation rates are widely cited as evidence of party dealignment.[x] In Canada, which has no compulsoryvoting law, mean voter participation since 1945 has been 76.4percent. [vii]J. [ii]D. At the provincial level of government, however, the NDPremains a strong force in Canadian politics. (Toronto:Prentice Hall Canada, Ltd., 1989), 292-3 9. The class model assumes divisions within a society along the lines ofthose present in British society, in which the working class, as an underclass, is pitted against a business class, and even an upper classaristocracy.[ii] The elite pluralist model recognizes the presence inCanadian society of elites, and posits that classical democracy, as thatideal is embraced in the concept of pluralism, does not exist in Canada.The elite pluralist model, however, holds that democratic values arepreserved in Canada through a system of multiple, competing elites. "The Dynamic Properties of Party Identification: A Four-Nation Comparison." European Journal of Political Research 9 (1981): 257-268.LeDuc, L. When shifts in party support areobserved, it is important to determine whether such shifts representdealignment or realignment. The ideological focus of the competing political parties,together with trends in voting behavior in Ontario are addressed along withother facets of the party system in the province. Social classes are not as well defined in Canada as they arein Britain, and any application of the class model in contemporary Canadaoften finds itself impaled on the shifting compositions of theunderprivileged and the privileged. The ProgressiveConservatives have also lost their power base in the provincialgovernments. On the other hand, the proportion of Canadiansidentifying with political parties has not been declining. At the federal level, the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives(or their predecessor, the Conservative Party) are the only two partiesthat have formed a national government ever. Voting Behavior and Other Facets of the Party System in Ontario The election of a Liberal minority government, a Liberal government,an NDP government, and the latest Progressive Conservative government ledby Mike Harris in Ontario over the past 12 years has caused some politicalpundits to declare that Ontario voters have either become dealigned fromthe the provincial political parties or that Ontario's voters are in themidst of some weird realignment process.[viii] At the federal level inCanada, major party support realignments occurred in: (1) 1896, when theLiberals won power, and became the dominant party for the succeeding 15years; (2) in 1911, when the Conservatives (Conservative Unionist) wonpower, and held it for 1 years; and (3) in 1921, when the Liberals, led byMacKenzie King, won. LeDuc, "The Dynamic Properties of Party Identification: A Four-Nation Comparison," European Journal of Political Research 9 (1981): 257-268; Bowler, Lanoue, and Savoia, 991-1 17. Such would be the case in 1995 withProgressive Conservative premier Mike Harris were there a viable federal-level Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. McAllister, "Party Elites, Voters and Political Attitudes:Testing Three Explanations for Mass-Elite Differences," Canadian Journal ofPolitical Science 24 (June 1991): 237-268. [iii]I. R. J., and Savoia, P. Therefore,there does not appear to be any evidence of dealignment among Canadians. R., and Ziegler, H. Bowler, D. In Ontario, however, party ideologies at the provincial levelalmost always tend to mirror those of the federal level parties. Such shifts of voter preference in Canada typically stem from theexcesses of a political party. Savoia, "Electoral Systems,Party Composition, and Strength in Partisan Attachment: Evidence From ThreeCountries," Journal of Politics 56 (November 1994): 991-1 17. Ideological Focus of Political Parties in Ontario Within the context of ideology, political parties in Canada'sprovinces tend to mirror comparable ideological differences at the federallevel. Smith, "A Structural Analysis of ClassVoting." Social Forces 6 (1982): 738-759. The election of the Bob Raegovernment was the result of a short-term voter reaction against theLiberals and the Progressive Conservatives, and these latter two partiesmay be expected to continue to form almost all if not all of Ontario'sfuture governments. "Elites, and Pluralists: Power in Canada," In J. "Elites and Democratic Theory: Insights From the Self- Organizing Model." Review of Politics 53 (Spring 1991): 34 -372.Zipp, J. Since 1921, the Conservatives and ProgressiveConservatives have won five national elections, including the 1988election. Conclusion The draconian policies being pursued by Premier Mike Harris representa departure from traditional Progressive Conservative policies in Ontario.The policies being pursued by the Harris Government appear to be more of apage out of the Reform Party platform than anything the ProgressiveConservatives in Ontario have stood for in the past. Weaver, "Electoral Earthquake," Brookings Review 12 (Winter1994): 46. "The Sign of Mean Times." Maclean's 1 8 (22 May 1995): 13.Laxer, J. Ontario in the period since the end of the Second World War, however,frequently has diverged from the political patterns at the federal level inCanada, electing Progressive Conservative governments for long stretches.With the single exception of the NDP government led by Bob Rae that wasdefeated in the last provincial election by the Mike Harris led ProgressiveConservatives, all of the provincial government that were not led by theProgressive Conservatives were led by the Liberals.[ix] Ontario'splurality electoral system permits candidates to win an MLA position bygarnering the most votes in the election regardless of whether thecandidate wins a majority of the votes cast. Power, in this context, represents theprerogative to make the decisions as to who gets what, when, and how.Thus, societal elites participate in the decisions which shape the lives ofall persons within a society, while the masses are those persons whoselives are shaped by institutions, events, and leaders over which they, themasses, are able to exercise little, if any, direct control. In thewake of the federal NDP disaster at the polls in 1993, there is talk oflaunching a new political party to represent the Canadian left.[vii] Sucha move might well receive support in Ontario, where the Canadian labormovement remains strong-although not strong enough to elect enough MLAs toform another government. TheNDP has always been strong in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The elite pluralist model posits that public policy decision making ischaracterized by an interaction between a set of multiple elites within asociety.[v] The principal societal actors within the context of the elitepluralist model are corporate leaders, the heads of a nation's financialinstitutions, elected political leaders, appointed officials ingovernmental bureaucracy and the military services, and organizationalleaders at the societal level-labor, agricultural, and professional.Pluralism holds that power is fragmented within a society; however, theelite pluralist model puts limits on such fragmentation, in that politicalpower within the society is exercised by a set of elites. Forgese, D. F., and Smith, J. Until 199 , NDP strength was concentratedin just a few provinces. Laxer, "Making Common Cause," Canadian Forum 73 (1994): 7-1 [viii]C. diZerega, "Elites and Democratic Theory: Insights From the Self-Organizing Model," Review of Politics 53 (Spring 1991): 34 -341. In 199 , however,the NDP won the provincial election in Ontario, and formed the governmentin Canada's richest and most industrialized province until defeated by theProgressive Conservatives led by Mike Harris. TheProgressive Conservative representation in the parliament resulting fromthat election of 74.8 percent, however, was lower than the party'srepresentation in the 1958-1962 parliament (78.4 percent). Toronto: Prentice Hall Canada, Ltd., 1989, 292-3 9.Gordon, C. The loss by the provincialNDP in the most recent provincial election to the Progressive Conservativesled by Mike Harris should not be construed as a major loss for the OntarioNDP. [ix]J. K. Monterey, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1987.Forgese, D. Either phenomena may occur without theoccurrence of the other, or both may occur simultaneously. Approaches to Canadian government and politics, 3rd ed.. Exceptions can be cited such as the CCF (Cooperative CommonwealthFederation), the predecessor to the contemporary New Democratic Party (NDP)at the provincial level in the western and Atlantic provinces before theNDP gained a national presence, or such as the Reform Party which developeda base in the western provinces before gaining its contemporary federalstatus. Since the 196 s, however, theNDP has been a significant presence in Canadian politics. K. "Party Elites, Voters and Political Attitudes: Testing Three Explanations for Mass-Elite Differences." Canadian Journal of Political Science, 24 (June 1991): 237-268.Weaver, R. The one positive stepthat the policies of the Harris Government likely will accomplish is tokeep the Reform Party from establishing a viable base in Ontario politics.The second thing that the Harris Government likely will accomplish is aprovincial sweeping out of the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario in thelast-half of the 199 s along the lines of what Frank McKenna's Liberals didto the Progressive Conservatives in New Brunswick and what the federalLiberals did to the federal Progressive Conservatives in the 1992 federalgeneral election. In someinstances of perceived dealignment or realignment, neither, in fact, mayhave occurred. The decimation of the federal Progressive Conservativesin the 1992 federal election, however, has caused many of the samepolitical pundits to proclaim a dealignment of voters from the ProgressiveConservatives.[xii] The NDP has been described as Canada's only true leftist politicalparty.[xiii] While the NDP is on the left of the spectrum of Canadianpolitics but still within the mainstream, the policies espoused by theparty are far to the left of the Democratic Party in the United States, andconservatives in the United States regularly bash the American Democratsfor being too liberal. H. The majority win by the Progressive Conservatives inthe 1988 federal election appeared to strengthen the conclusion reached bysome political pundits that either a realignment or a Liberal dealignmentoccurred in 1984. LeDuc, "Partisan Change and Dealignment in Canada, GreatBritain, and the United States," Comparative Politics 7 (July 1985): 379-397. The massive Progressive Conservative victory in 1984proved to be just one more "rest stop" in the Liberal political dominationat the national level that began in 1921. Endnotes BibliographyBassili, "Response Latency and the Accessibility of Voting Intentions: What Contributes to Accessibility and How It Affects Vote Choice." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (July 1995): 686-695.Bowler, S., Lanoue, D. The strength of Canada'ssocialist party at the provincial level of government is attributable tothe strength the Canadian labor movement in several provinces. [xi]L. Voter participationpatterns in Canada, therefore, do not appear to be indicators of partydelignment. Thus, it wasfar too early in the late-198 s to state that a party realignment occurredin Canada in 1984. N. Bassili, "Response Latency and the Accessibility of VotingIntentions: What Contributes to Accessibility and How It Affects VoteChoice," Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (July 1995): 686-695. PARTIES AND THE PARTY SYSTEM IN ONTARIO Introduction This research examines political parties and the party system inOntario. F. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.