Suchergebnisse

AbstractAn ongoing theme in the study of elected representatives is how they present themselves to their constituents in order to enhance their re‐election prospects, but there are few examples of studies exploring how elected officials present themselves online. This paper addresses this gap by comparing presentation of self by Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) on parliamentary websites and in the older medium of parliamentary newsletters. It follows Gulati (2004; The International Journal of Press/Politics 9: 22–40) in using nameplate images of MPs in Parliament and their constituencies as proxies for presentations of self as insiders and outsiders, respectively. Specifically, it asks (1) how MPs present themselves online, (2) whether this differs from presentation in newsletters, and (3) what factors explain presentation of self online. The paper finds that MPs are likely to present themselves as outsiders on their websites, that this differs from patterns observed in newsletters, and that party affiliation plays an important role in shaping self‐presentation online. The implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

Several theorists have entertained the possibility that the egalitarian nature of Internet-based discussion may facilitate meaningful democratic deliberative discussions amongst citizens. This article provides a preliminary empirical test of these claims by examining the extent to which blogs and blogroll communities act as forums for such deliberations. The analysis uses a dataset derived from a content analysis performed on blogs from three Canadian partisan blogrolls in October 2005. We perform three tests of the deliberative qualities of blog-based discussions: (a) whether discussion is characterized by equality of participation; (b) whether bloggers discuss substantive issues; and (c) whether bloggers engage constructively in discussions with political opponents. We find that this online discussion does exhibit some deliberative characteristics but that this discussion is often characterized by inequality of discussion, a focus on non-substantive issues, and unconstructive engagement between bloggers.

"Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) are often dismissed as "trained seals," helpless to do anything other than follow commands from party leaders. Representation in Action challenges this view of MPs and shows that the ways they represent their constituents are as diverse as Canada itself. Royce Koop, Heather Bastedo, and Kelly Blidook examine the activities MPs engage in to represent their ridings and determine what accounts for differences in style and agency. Drawing on original observational and interview research with eleven MPs and featuring detailed in-depth case studies, Representation in Action is the first book featuring the results from intensive participant-observation of Canadian MPs and representation."--

AbstractWe explore influences on the number of candidates, and female candidates in particular, who contest mayoral elections in Canada. We draw on an original cross-national data set of election results from mayoral elections in Canada's 100 largest cities between 2006 and 2017. An average of 4.96 candidates contested mayoral elections in this period, and 16 per cent of all candidates were women. Density and mayoral prestige were related to higher numbers of candidates; in contrast, incumbent candidates and the availability of other elected positions were related to lower numbers. Notably, the presence of a female incumbent was related to higher numbers of women running for the position of mayor; in contrast, higher mayoral salaries were associated with an increase in the number of male but not female candidates. This analysis enhances our understanding of the factors underlying contested local elections, as well as the factors that appear to facilitate women contesting local elections.

AbstractWe provide the first wide-scale analysis of the factors that influence voter turnout in Canadian local elections. Drawing on original data from 300 municipal elections conducted from 2004 to 2014, we use ordinary least squares regression with panel-corrected standard errors for time series cross-sections to test explanatory hypotheses related to differences in institutional design, the social-spatial context of these elections, and local competitiveness. Our results show that, although institutional and sociospatial factors influence local turnout, the competitiveness of elections exercises the greatest influence on local electoral participation.

AbstractThe Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act is a strategic wedge aimed at raising the salience of western alienation, an issue on which the United Conservative Party and its leader, Danielle Smith, believe they can dominate their opponents and so win the May 2023 provincial election. The act signals the unprecedented circumstances in which the governing party finds itself. It is running neck-and-neck with a formidable opponent and a party leader who previously held the office of premier. Alberta has never experienced such an election.

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessarily affected the operation of Canada's Parliament and, thus, the activities of Members of Parliament (MPs) (Malloy, 2020; Rayment and VandenBeukel, 2020). Here, we explore how the pandemic has affected the representational activities of individual MPs.

Does lawmaker behavior influence electoral outcomes? Observational studies cannot elucidate the effect of legislative proposals on electoral outcomes, since effects are confounded by unobserved differences in legislative and political skill. We take advantage of a unique natural experiment in the Canadian House of Commons that allows us to estimate how proposing legislation affects election outcomes. The right of noncabinet members to propose legislation is assigned by lottery. Comparing outcomes between those who were granted the right to propose and those who were not, we show that incumbents of the governing party enjoy a 2.7 percentage point bonus in vote total in the election following their winning the right to introduce a single piece of legislation, which translates to a 7% increase in the probability of winning. The causal effect results from higher likeability among constituents. These results demonstrate experimentally that what politicians do as lawmakers has a causal effect on electoral outcomes. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractThis research note describes the Canadian Municipal Elections Database (CMED), a new publicly available and actively maintained dataset of more than 24,000 municipal elections in Canada. We describe the need for high-quality election results data for municipal politics research and describe the content, sources and construction of the CMED. To illustrate the value of the CMED, we estimate gender differences in municipal electoral performance for the first time, finding that women are, on average, more likely than men to win municipal elections in Canada.