Politics and Ideology in Canada

Politics and Ideology in Canada PDF Author: Michael Ornstein
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 9780773525948
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
Winner of the Harold Adams Innis Prize, Politics and Ideology in Canada examines a period of crucial historical change in Canada, beginning in the mid-1970s when the crisis of the Keynesian welfare state precipitated a transition to a new political order based on the progressive "downsizing" of state involvement in the economy and society. Using class and ideology as key concepts, Michael Ornstein and Michael Stevenson examine this transition in terms of the nature of hegemony and hegemonic crisis and the conditions of political order and instability. These concepts guide the interpretation of three large surveys of representative samples of the Canadian public and two unique elite surveys, conducted between 1975 and 1981. The surveys cover an exceptionally broad spectrum of political issues, including social programs, civil and economic rights, economic policy, foreign ownership, labour relations, and language issues and sovereignty. A wide-ranging analysis of public and elite attitudes reveals a hegemonic order through the early 1980s, built around public support for the institutions of the Canadian welfare state. But there was also widespread public alienation from politics. Public opinion was quite strongly linked to class but not to party politics. Regional variation in political ideology on a broad range of issues was less pronounced than differences between Quebec and English Canada. Much deeper ideological divisions separated the elites, with a dramatic polarization between corporate and labour respondents. State elites fell between these two, though generally more favourable to capital. The responses of the business elites reveal the ideological roots of the Mulroney years in support for cuts in social programs, free trade, privatization, and deregulation.

Politics and Ideology in Canada

Politics and Ideology in Canada PDF Author: Michael Ornstein
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 9780773525948
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
Winner of the Harold Adams Innis Prize, Politics and Ideology in Canada examines a period of crucial historical change in Canada, beginning in the mid-1970s when the crisis of the Keynesian welfare state precipitated a transition to a new political order based on the progressive "downsizing" of state involvement in the economy and society. Using class and ideology as key concepts, Michael Ornstein and Michael Stevenson examine this transition in terms of the nature of hegemony and hegemonic crisis and the conditions of political order and instability. These concepts guide the interpretation of three large surveys of representative samples of the Canadian public and two unique elite surveys, conducted between 1975 and 1981. The surveys cover an exceptionally broad spectrum of political issues, including social programs, civil and economic rights, economic policy, foreign ownership, labour relations, and language issues and sovereignty. A wide-ranging analysis of public and elite attitudes reveals a hegemonic order through the early 1980s, built around public support for the institutions of the Canadian welfare state. But there was also widespread public alienation from politics. Public opinion was quite strongly linked to class but not to party politics. Regional variation in political ideology on a broad range of issues was less pronounced than differences between Quebec and English Canada. Much deeper ideological divisions separated the elites, with a dramatic polarization between corporate and labour respondents. State elites fell between these two, though generally more favourable to capital. The responses of the business elites reveal the ideological roots of the Mulroney years in support for cuts in social programs, free trade, privatization, and deregulation.

Left and Right

Left and Right PDF Author: Christopher Cochrane
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 077359745X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
The words "left" and "right" often signal a political divide in debates about topics as diverse as abortion, capital punishment, gun control, social welfare, taxation, immigration, and the environment. Despite claims that political polarization is in decline, its persistence suggests that it is inherent to our society. At the same time, variations in the perception of each side indicate that these labels do not fully capture the reality of ideological disagreement. In Left and Right, Christopher Cochrane traces the origins of this political language to the very nature of ideology. What is ideology, what does it look like, and how does it manifest itself in patterns of political disagreement in Western democracies? Drawing on five decades of evidence from political scientists, including public opinion surveys, elite surveys, and content analysis of political party election platforms, Cochrane employs a new method to analyze the structure and evolution of the left/right divide in twenty-one Western countries since 1945. He then delves into the central argument of the book - that the language of left and right describes a meaningful, perceptible, and quantifiable pattern of political disagreement that has persisted over time and around the world. Calling for an adjustment to the way we view Canadian politics, Left and Right opens a window into the world of political ideologies - a world we see every day, but rarely analyze, define, or agree on.

Conservatism in Canada

Conservatism in Canada PDF Author: James Farney
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442614560
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Conservatism in Canada explores the ideological character of contemporary Canadian conservatism, its support in the electorate, its impact on public policies such as immigration and foreign policy, and its articulation at both federal and provincial levels.

Political Ideology in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society

Political Ideology in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society PDF Author: David Laycock
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774861347
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Liberalism, conservatism, populism, environmentalism, multiculturalism, agrarianism, labour pragmatism, socialism, and myriad other isms. Ideology is a ubiquitous, continuously innovating dimension of human experience, but its character and impact are notoriously difficult to pinpoint within political and social life. Political Ideology in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society demonstrates that the reach and significance of political ideology is best understood through a multidisciplinary approach. Contributors to this volume explore a broad territory from multiple perspectives: the influence of English country party ideology on late-eighteenth-century American political thought; multiculturalism, populism, and environmentalism in Canada; the ideological underpinnings of Canadian development assistance policy; contemporary efforts to shape working-class and farmer ideologies in western Canada; and the interweaving of academic theory and ideology in game theory. This stimulating volume offers empirical interpretations that break new ground, and demonstrates the strength of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of political ideology.

Pro-Family Politics and Fringe Parties in Canada

Pro-Family Politics and Fringe Parties in Canada PDF Author: Chris MacKenzie
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774843675
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Pro-Family Politics and Fringe Parties in Canada explores the organizational and ideological nature of political parties that are initially formed to do the work of social movements. Specifically, it examines the development of the Family Coalition Party of British Columbia (FCP) from its origins as a group of alienated Social Credit Party members to its rebirth as the Unity Party of British Columbia, and through its struggles as a marginal political entity along the way. While addressing the FCP's relationship to the larger North American pro-family movement, Chris MacKenzie also deftly demonstrates how the party can be seen as organizationally congruent with its ideological antithesis, the Green Party. Basing his findings on seven years of field research, he identifies the obstacles that political parties involved in social movement work must overcome in order for them to achieve their goals. He concludes that, despite their invaluablecontribution to democracy, such party / movements have limited political institutionalization. Consequently, their only realistic goal may be to merge their ideals with those of another, larger political body. This book makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the genesis, development, and impact of political party / movements in Canada. Moreover, it provides useful insight into the dynamics and issues that make up the current pro-family movements in Canada and the United States.

The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics

The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics PDF Author: Manon Tremblay
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030492400
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 539

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Book Description
The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics offers the first and only handbook in the field of Canadian politics that uses 'gender' (which it interprets broadly, as inclusive of sex, sexualities, and other intersecting identities) as its category of analysis. Its premise is that political actors’ identities frame how Canadian politics is thought, told, and done; in turn, Canadian politics, as a set of ideas, state institutions and decision-making processes, and civil society mobilizations, does and redoes gender. Following the standard structure of mainstream introductory Canadian politics textbooks, this handbook is divided into four sections (ideologies, institutions, civil society, and public policy) each of which contains several chapters on topics commonly taught in Canadian politics classes. The originality of the handbook lies in its approach: each chapter reviews the basics of a given topic from the perspective of gendered/sexualized and other intersectional identities. Such an approach makes the handbook the only one of its kind in Canadian Politics.

The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics

The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics PDF Author: John Courtney
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019533535X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 569

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Book Description
The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics provides a comprehensive overview of the transformation that has occurred in Canadian politics since it acheived autonomy nearly a century ago, examining the institutions and processes of Canadian government and politics at the local, provincial and federal levels. It analyzes all aspects of the Canadian political system: the courts, elections, political parties, Parliament, the constitution, fiscal and political federalism, the diffusion of policies between regions, and various aspects of public policy.

The Big Shift

The Big Shift PDF Author: Darrell Bricker
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 1443416479
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
For almost its entire history, Canada has been run by the political, media and business elites of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. But in the past few years, these groups have lost their power—and most of them still do not realize it’s gone. The Laurentian Consensus, the term John Ibbitson has coined for the dusty liberal elite, has been replaced by a new, powerful coalition based in the West and supported by immigrant voters in Ontario. How did this happen? Most people are unaware that the keystone economic and political drivers of this country are now Western Canada and immigrants from China, India and other Asian countries. Politicians and businesspeople have underestimated how conservative these newcomers are making our country. Canada, with its ever-evolving economy and fluid demographic base, has become divorced from the traditions of its past and is moving in an entirely new direction. In The Big Shift, Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson argue that one of the world’s most consensual countries is becoming polarized, exhibiting stark differences between East and West, cities and suburbs, Canadianborn citizens and immigrants. The winners—in both politics and business— will be those who can capitalize on the tremendous changes that the Big Shift will bring.

Big Tent Politics

Big Tent Politics PDF Author: R. Kenneth Carty
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774830026
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
The Liberal Party of Canada is one of the most successful parties in the democratic world. It dominated Canadian politics for a century, practising an inclusive style of “big tent” politics that allowed it to fend off opponents on both the left and right. How did it do this? What kind of party organization did it build over the decades to manage its remarkable string of election victories? This book traces the record of the party over the twentieth century, revealing the cyclical character of its success and charting its capacity to respond to change. It also unwraps Liberal practices and organization to reveal the party’s distinctive “brokerage” approach to politics as well as a franchise-style structure that tied local grassroots supporters to the national leadership. R. Kenneth Carty provides a masterful analysis of how one party came to lead the nation’s public life. In a country riven by difference, the Liberals’ enduring political success was an extraordinary feat. But as Carty reflects, given the party’s not-so-distant travails, even with an election win, will it be able to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century?

Code Politics

Code Politics PDF Author: Jared J. Wesley
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774820772
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Politics on the Canadian Prairies are puzzling. The provinces share a common landscape and history, but they have nurtured three distinct political cultures – Alberta is Canada’s bastion of conservatism, Saskatchewan its cradle of social democracy, and Manitoba its progressive centre. The roots of these cultures run deep, yet their persistence over a century has yet to be explained. Drawing on over eight hundred pieces of campaign literature, Jared Wesley reveals that dominant political parties have used one key device – rhetoric – to foster and carry forward their province’s cultural values or political code. Social Credit and Progressive Conservative leaders in Alberta emphasized freedom, whereas New Democrats in Saskatchewan stressed security. Successful politicians in Manitoba, by contrast, underscored the importance of moderation. Although the content of their campaigns differed, leaders from William Aberhart to Tommy Douglas to Gary Doer have employed distinct codes to ensure their parties’ success and shape their provinces’ political landscapes.