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The Public Servant's Guide to Government in Canada is a concise primer on the inner workings of government in Canada. This go-to resource is a useful reference guide for students and scholars, for new and lower-ranking public servants, or for anyone who wants to know more about how government really works

AbstractWhat determines how Members of Parliament (MPs) and their staff frame their communications with all constituents in their electoral district? Prior research has suggested that constituency operations are one of the last bastions of freedom that MPs have from the full grasp of party discipline in Canada. If this remains true, MP communications with their constituents should reflect the MPs' background or the constituency context and not their political partisanship. We collected a sample of published newsletters ("householders") that Canadian MPs' offices sent to all households in their electoral districts during the COVID-19 pandemic. We supplement our analysis with original insights about householders from a selection of MPs and their staff. Our results suggest that in a system of strict party discipline, the most important predictor of what MPs include in their constituent communications is indeed partisanship. The results inform our understanding of democratic representation, centralized co-ordination and political communication, and the pervasiveness of partisan messaging in Canada.

Background: Photo opportunities enable tight scripting and image control while catering to the media's need for visual content. This research traces how, since 1955, Canadian finance ministers and the media have exhibited a uniquely Canadian interest in the min- sister's budget day shoes. Analysis: A review of newspaper coverage about the federal budget indicates that news stories contributed to the myth of parliamentary tradition that evolved into packaged photo ops. Interviews with journalists and a finance minister's staff, among others, provide insights about photo-op management in a permanent campaigning environment. Conclusion and implications: The case study adds to knowledge about strategic communication in government and the evolution of media-state relations in Canada. RÉSUMÉ Contexte : Les séances de photographie permettent un contrôle serré de l'image et du scénario tout en servant les besoins des médias en contenu visuel. Cette recherche retrace comment, depuis 1955, les ministres des Finances et les médias au Canada ont manifesté un intérêt singulièrement canadien pour les chaussures que portent le ministre le jour du budget. Analyse : Une évaluation de la couverture médiatique du budget fédéral indique que les reportages ont contribué au mythe d'une tradition parlementaire évoluant vers des séances de photographie soigneusement organisées. Entre autres, des entrevues avec des journalistes et le personnel d'un ministre des Finances aident à mieux comprendre la gestion des séances photo dans un contexte de campagne permanente. Conclusion et implications : Cette étude de cas contribue au savoir sur la communication stratégique gouvernementale et l'évolution des relations entre l'État et les médias.

Turmoil in the House of Assembly leading up to the 2019 general election in Newfoundland and Labrador foreshadowed an unusual result. Liberal Premier Dwight Ball, stung by public outrage over his government's 2016 austerity budget, spent the balance of his term wary of difficult decisions while ministers and MHAs hurled accusations of bullying at each other. The Liberal government routinely evoked its The Way Forward planning document as a source of policy solutions and blamed the Progressive Conservatives for sanctioning the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project boondoggle. Public opinion polls often put the Liberals in front, but Ball's popularity lagged behind his party's and occasionally that of the opposition leaders. The election produced the first minority government in nearly half a century, including the rare victory of two Independents, and the Liberal caucus soon agitated for new leadership. The province's dire economic circumstances mean that more political turmoil is likely.RésuméLes turbulences à l'assemblée législative à l'approche des élections générales de 2019 à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador laissent présager un résultat inhabituel. Le premier ministre libéral Dwight Ball, piqué par l'indignation de la population à propos du budget d'austérité de son gouvernement pour 2016, a passé le reste de son mandat à se méfier des décisions difficiles, tandis que les ministres et les députés se lançaient des accusations d'intimidation les uns envers les autres. Le gouvernement libéral a régulièrement évoqué son document de planification «The Way Forward» comme une source de solutions politiques et a reproché aux progressistes-conservateurs d'avoir sanctionné le gâchis du projet hydroélectrique de Muskrat Falls. Les sondages d'opinion mettent souvent les libéraux en avance, mais la popularité de Ball est à la traîne par rapport à celle de son parti et, parfois, des chefs de l'opposition. L'élection a produit le premier gouvernement minoritaire en près d'un demi-siècle, y compris la rare victoire de deux indépendants, et le caucus libéral s'est rapidement agité pour changer de leadership. La situation économique désastreuse de la province laisse présager de nouvelles turbulences politiques.Keywords: Newfoundland and Labrador, 2019 provincial election, Dwight Ball, House of Assembly, minority governmentMots-clés: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, élections provinciales de 2019, Dwight Ball, assemblée législative, gouvernement minoritaire

Little is known about how elected representatives attempt to manipulate public opinion and news media through their participation on regional open line radio or media straw polls. This article examines the systematic attempts by political actors to engage these media in the small polity of Newfoundland, Canada, where politics is characterized by the hyper-local nature of 590-VOCM radio programming. Our mixed-method study draws from talk radio call-in logs, online straw poll vote results, observation of the production of open line programming, and insights from local media personnel. We draw attention to two clandestine media management techniques. First, we analyze call-ins by elected legislators to talk radio that were timed to coincide with the known field dates of a public opinion polling company. Second, we report that handheld communication devices were used by senior members of the governing party to mobilize legislators and party personnel to repeatedly vote on straw polls on regional media Web sites. Our findings show that there is a substantial and statistically significant increase in the probability that legislators will call talk radio when pollsters are in the field. Furthermore, we document and explore the manner in which political elites mobilize to engage online media straw polls, and discover that straw poll questions which address political topics attract a disproportionately higher number of "votes" than nonpolitical questions. This micro-level study offers perspective for interpreting macro-level knowledge about political talk radio, horse race/game and strategic media frames, and about political elites' mobilization and media management tactics.

Little is known about how elected representatives attempt to manipulate public opinion and news media through their participation on regional open line radio or media straw polls. This article examines the systematic attempts by political actors to engage these media in the small polity of Newfoundland, Canada, where politics is characterized by the hyper-local nature of 590-VOCM radio programming. Our mixed-method study draws from talk radio call-in logs, online straw poll vote results, observation of the production of open line programming, and insights from local media personnel. We draw attention to two clandestine media management techniques. First, we analyze call-ins by elected legislators to talk radio that were timed to coincide with the known field dates of a public opinion polling company. Second, we report that handheld communication devices were used by senior members of the governing party to mobilize legislators and party personnel to repeatedly vote on straw polls on regional media Web sites. Our findings show that there is a substantial and statistically significant increase in the probability that legislators will call talk radio when pollsters are in the field. Furthermore, we document and explore the manner in which political elites mobilize to engage online media straw polls, and discover that straw poll questions which address political topics attract a disproportionately higher number of "votes" than nonpolitical questions. This micro-level study offers perspective for interpreting macro-level knowledge about political talk radio, horse race/game and strategic media frames, and about political elites' mobilization and media management tactics.