Democracy in Canada

Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Donald J. Savoie
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228000416
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
Canada's representative democracy is confronting important challenges. At the top of the list is the growing inability of the national government to perform its most important roles: namely mapping out collective actions that resonate in all regions as well as enforcing these measures. Others include Parliament's failure to carry out important responsibilities, an activist judiciary, incessant calls for greater transparency, the media's rapidly changing role, and a federal government bureaucracy that has lost both its way and its standing. Arguing that Canadians must reconsider the origins of their country in order to understand why change is difficult and why they continue to embrace regional identities, Democracy in Canada explains how Canada's national institutions were shaped by British historical experiences, and why there was little effort to bring Canadian realities into the mix. As a result, the scope and size of government and Canadian federalism have taken on new forms largely outside the Constitution. Parliament and now even Cabinet have been pushed aside so that policy makers can design and manage the modern state. This also accounts for the average citizen's belief that national institutions cater to economic elites, to these institutions' own members, and to interest groups at citizens' own expense. A masterwork analysis, Democracy in Canada investigates the forces shaping the workings of Canadian federalism and the country's national political and bureaucratic institutions.

Democracy in Canada

Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Donald J. Savoie
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228000416
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Get Book Here

Book Description
Canada's representative democracy is confronting important challenges. At the top of the list is the growing inability of the national government to perform its most important roles: namely mapping out collective actions that resonate in all regions as well as enforcing these measures. Others include Parliament's failure to carry out important responsibilities, an activist judiciary, incessant calls for greater transparency, the media's rapidly changing role, and a federal government bureaucracy that has lost both its way and its standing. Arguing that Canadians must reconsider the origins of their country in order to understand why change is difficult and why they continue to embrace regional identities, Democracy in Canada explains how Canada's national institutions were shaped by British historical experiences, and why there was little effort to bring Canadian realities into the mix. As a result, the scope and size of government and Canadian federalism have taken on new forms largely outside the Constitution. Parliament and now even Cabinet have been pushed aside so that policy makers can design and manage the modern state. This also accounts for the average citizen's belief that national institutions cater to economic elites, to these institutions' own members, and to interest groups at citizens' own expense. A masterwork analysis, Democracy in Canada investigates the forces shaping the workings of Canadian federalism and the country's national political and bureaucratic institutions.

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Lorna Stefanick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781771990301
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
Prior to May 2015, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta had, for over four decades, been a one-party state. During that time, the rule of the Progressive Conservatives essentially went unchallenged, with critiques of government policy falling on deaf ears and Alberta ranking behind other provinces in voter turnout. Given the province's economic reliance on oil revenues, a symbiotic relationship also developed between government and the oil industry. Cross-national studies have detected a correlation between oil-dependent economies and authoritarian rule, a pattern particularly evident in Africa and the Middle East. Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada sets out to test the "oil inhibits democracy" hypothesis in the context of an industrialized nation in the Global North. In probing the impact of Alberta's powerful oil lobby on the health of democracy in the province, contributors to the volume engage with an ongoing discussion of the erosion of political liberalism in the West. In addition to examining energy policy and issues of government accountability in Alberta, they explore the ramifications of oil dependence in areas such as Aboriginal rights, environmental policy, labour law, women's equity, urban social policy, and the arts. If, as they argue, reliance on oil has weakened democratic structures in Alberta, then what of Canada as whole, where the short-term priorities of the oil industry continue to shape federal policy? The findings in this book suggest that, to revitalize democracy, provincial and federal leaders alike must find the courage to curb the influence of the oil industry on governance.

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up PDF Author: Elisabeth Gidengil
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774828285
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Canada is often held up as an example of a healthy democracy. However, the Canadian public is less enthusiastic about the way our democracy works. Rather than focusing on institutional performance, this book approaches the “democratic deficit” from the perspective of the Canadian public and assesses the performance of political leaders and the media in light of Canadians’ perceptions and expectations. In doing so, a number of chapters highlight the disjuncture between perceptions and performance. For example, governments do keep many of their election promises, and media coverage is not as negative as we are apt to believe. Similarly, the book provides new insights into political apathy by drawing on focus group discussions that represent the first attempt to ask politically marginalized Canadians why they have turned their backs on politics. By introducing the voice of everyday Canadians, this book adds a new perspective to political discussions in this country. Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up is essential for anyone who would like to learn how to build a better democracy – one that meets the expectations of the Canadian public.

Imperfect Democracies

Imperfect Democracies PDF Author: Patti Tamara Lenard
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 077482378X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Canada and the United States are consistently ranked among the most democratic countries in the world, yet voices expressing concern about the quality of these democracies are becoming louder and more insistent. Critics maintain that the two countries suffer from a “democratic deficit,” a deficit that raises profound questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of their democratic institutions. Imperfect Democracies brings together Canadian and American scholars to compare how the democratic deficit plays out in the two nations. An important contribution to the field of democratic theory and the study of democratic institutions, this timely book will spark debate on both sides of the border.

Ruling Canada

Ruling Canada PDF Author: Jamie Brownlee
Publisher: Fernwood Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
The "economic elite" has long been thought to cooperate at a corporate level to impact state and national policies and programs at the expense of the Canadian citizenry. However, this work reveals the expanding reach of the elite and their current encroachment into the noncorporate arena as yet another opportunity to exert their formidable influence. Citing the increasingly unified and class-conscious aspects of the group, this text reveals the degree to which this minority continues to prosper, dominate, and threaten Canadian democracy through numerous unifying mechanisms: corporate director interlocks; concentrated economic ownership; ties to the mass media; and the many business-oriented think tanks, philanthropic foundations, and corporate policy organizations. Maintaining that these existing relations need not be considered inevitable, the author challenges concerned citizens to come together to disrupt the political and economic status quo.

Constant Struggle

Constant Struggle PDF Author: Julien Mauduit
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228009944
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
Most Canadians assume they live under some form of democracy. Yet confusion about the meaning of the word and the limits of the people’s power obscures a deeper understanding. Constant Struggle looks for the democratic impulse in Canada’s past to deconstruct how the country became a democracy, if in fact it ever did. This volume asks what limits and contradictions have framed the nation’s democratization process, examining how democracy has been understood by those who have advocated for or resisted it and exploring key historical realities that have shaped it. Scholars from a range of disciplines tackle this elusive concept, suggesting that instead of looking for a simple narrative, we must be alert to the slower, untidier, and incomplete processes of democratization in Canada. Constant Struggle offers a renewed, sometimes unsettling depiction, stretching from studies of early Indigenous societies, through colonial North America and Confederation, into the twentieth century. Contributors reassess democracy in light of settler colonialism and white supremacy, investigate connections between capitalism and democracy, consider alternative conceptions of democracy from Canada’s past, and highlight the various ways in which the democratic ideal has been mobilized to advance particular visions of Canadian society. Demonstrating that Canada’s democratization process has not always been one that empowered the people, Constant Struggle questions traditional views of the relationship between democracy and liberalism in Canada and around the world.

A History of the Vote in Canada

A History of the Vote in Canada PDF Author: Elections Canada
Publisher: Chief Electoral Officer of Canada
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Cet ouvrage couvre la période qui va de 1758 à nos jours.

Canadian Democracy

Canadian Democracy PDF Author: Stephen Brooks
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 624

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Book Description
This new, revised edition of the best-selling introduction to Canadian politics examines the characteristics, complexities, and controversies of the subject in a way that is comprehensive yet comprehensible. While offering a thorough grounding in the basics of Canadian government--its institutions, ideologies, and processes--Canadian Democracy, Sixth Edition, focuses on issues of individual, group, and regional equalities and freedoms, and raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of Canadian democracy itself. Through its contemporary approach, this innovative text teaches readers to think critically through analysis of current issues, helping today's students become actively engaged citizens.

Our Country, Our Parliament

Our Country, Our Parliament PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780660369686
Category : Canada
Languages : en
Pages : 51

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Book Description


Environmental Conflict and Democracy in Canada

Environmental Conflict and Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Laurie E. Adkin
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 077481604X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 765

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Book Description
This path-breaking collection brings together environmental politics and democratic theory to reveal the deficits of citizenship and how democracy must be extended to achieve a socially just, ecologically sustainable society in Canada.