This research note examines the correlates of turnout in Canadian school board elections. Using individual-level data from the Canadian Municipal Election Study, we find that gender, education, left-wing ideology, Conservative partisanship and parental status were associated with participation in Calgary's 2017 public school board elections. Some of these patterns relate to the specific details of Calgary's 2017 election; others, we suggest, may be characteristic of school board elections more generally. We relate our findings to the literature on ballot roll-off and low-turnout elections.

The regionalization of the Canadian party system is a topic that has occupied Canadian scholars for decades. While there have undoubtedly been periods of significant regionalization (for example, the 1990s) and while these periods have been well documented, there has been very little systematic study of regionalization/nationalization in the Canadian party system. We address this gap by exploring nationalization of the Canadian party system from 1867 to 2015. To do so, we apply two measures. First, we consider how nationalized party competition is by exploring the extent to which parties compete in districts across the entire country. Second, we compliment this approach by applying the Gini coefficient to vote shares, revealing the extent to which Canadian parties have (un)even electoral support from province to province. In doing so, we explore not only the system as a whole but individual parties as well.

Abstract. The North—defined as the Canadian Arctic—ranks among the most understudied and yet the most promising fields of enquiry for Canadian political scientists. It offers a host of fascinating research topics and intellectual puzzles, many of which entail the often fraught relationship between the Canadian state and Aboriginal peoples. Important conceptual issues await academics studying northern politics and governance. As well, political scientists' work can benefit the governments and the people of the North who are grappling with difficult practical problems as they develop distinctive ways of governing themselves.

Academic work on northern politics can be at once intellectually stimulating, professionally rewarding and of significant practical utility. Accordingly, more Canadian political scientists, especially young scholars, should turn their attention northwards.

Résumé. Le Nord, ou plus précisément l'Arctique canadien, constitue un des champs les moins explorés et pourtant les plus prometteurs pour les politologues canadiens. Son étude révèle une foule de sujets de recherche fascinants et d'énigmes intellectuelles, dont plusieurs se rapportent aux relations souvent tendues entre l'État canadien et les peuples autochtones. D'importants enjeux conceptuels se posent aux chercheurs de la politique nordique et de la gouvernance. De plus, les recherches des politologues peuvent aider les gouvernements et les habitants du Nord à résoudre des problèmes concrets associés au développement de façons distinctives de se gouverner.

En somme, la recherche sur la politique nordique peut être à la fois intellectuellement stimulante, professionnellement gratifiante et pourvu d'une grande utilité pratique. En conséquence, plus de politologues canadiens, et en particulier ceux des nouvelles générations, devraient diriger leur attention vers le Nord.

Membership in an élite group implies a role by virtue of which the individual has the power to make effective decisions and to co-ordinate activity in a particular sector of the social structure. In simpler types of social structure, or the “folk” society, decision-making roles tend to be fused with other roles such as headship of kinship units or magical and religious functions. In industrial types of social structure with a great differentiation of social life, decision-making and co-ordinating roles are assigned to members of élite groups. The élite groups which can be distinguished are the economic, political, bureaucratic, military, and, where the ideology has a strong religious component, church hierarchies. Where the ideology tends to be secular, the position held by church hierarchies is taken over by an intellectual élite. The spheres of influence of the several élite groups are not always clearly defined, but in general they correspond to essential social functions.

Such a scheme of élite groups has been suggested by Professor Aron as a more useful analytical device in the study of power than the classes of Marxian theory. It might be added that a scheme of élite groups is also more useful than the “Warner” system of classification which is more relevant to prestige than to power. Hollywood film stars might be considered both “capitalists” and “lower-uppers” but they do not exercise power, although the élite groups who do exercise power might use them for purposes of prestige in the way that advertising and political campaigns suggest.

The unique contribution of American scholarship to the study of politics is undoubtedly the development of behaviouralism. As “a successful protest” against the limits of traditional political science, the behavioural approach has certainly broadened our perspective by calling attention to hitherto neglected areas of political research. It has also made us methodologically more sophisticated by its insistence on rigorous empiricism and on theory-building as a major task. And yet it is difficult to be convinced that “all segments of political science can be treated behaviorally,” as one student has recently claimed. Behaviouralism is certainly an effective way of studying politics. But it is quite a different thing to say that there exists no aspect of politics which cannot be treated behaviourally. It is the aim of this paper to enquire whether there may not exist segments of politics which by their very nature resist the behavioural treatment.

Let us first define what is to be understood by behaviouralism. In view of its inherent “ambiguity,” it may be best to start by listing three major assertions which I think set apart behavioural explanations from other kinds of statements in political studies. These assertions are: (1) individuals rather than groups constitute proper units for analyses; (2) facts must be separated from values; and (3) legitimate explanations always run in terms of laws or generalizations, but never in terms of descriptive statements of particular occurrences.

For some time now, and with increasing frequency, it has been asserted that cultural differences between the two major language groups in Canada are marked and that these differences carry over into economic behaviour. On a less general plane it is also said that there are differences between patterns of consumption in Ontario and Quebec and that these differences are largely due to “cultural” and not economic factors. However, to date there has been no verification of the latter hypothesis.

There are several reasons for undertaking such a verification. First, it may make an indirect empirical contribution to the current debate about the existence and future development of a separate French-Canadian community, different from the rest of Canada in both cultural and economic aspects. Second, as far as it was possible to determine, there have been no investigations undertaken comparing regional patterns of consumption, possibly because most economically developed countries are considered homogeneous in this respect (but note, for instance, Belgium and Switzerland). Is it likely that two large groups of people living since “time immemorial” in a single economy and exposed to much the same economic and social pressures differ in important respects in their consumption patterns? And that these differences, if any, will tend to persist even after certain important economic and demographic variables have been controlled? Finally, on the commercial plane, if we can find significant differences in consumer expenditures (albeit confined in this study to major expenditure classes), sellers may be led to a conscious effort at the exploitation of regional market segments.

This paper is an attempt to suggest methods of approach to the materials of Canadian social history. As such it is an appeal for a greater utilization of historical data in the development of sociological principles. It should be admitted at the outset that the point of view advanced is partly the result of a bias in favour of what might be described as the documentary as opposed to the interview method of research. Certain problems can be studied only by means of the interview. There are times, however, when a greater understanding could be gained from documentary records with much less expenditure of time and energy. Furthermore, the interview method, if it is to yield fruitful results, must be employed by those with a particular aptitude for “feeling out” information in this way. It is no accident that the most successful research students in sociology very often have been those with experience in journalism or those with a flare for journalism who found an outlet for their inclinations in sociological research. The penetrating insight of a Sinclair Lewis or Sherwood Anderson cannot be matched by the finest tools forged in the laboratory of the sociologist.

Despite criticism of ongoing protectionism, this study argues that Canada's internal trade regime has evolved significantly since the implementation of the original Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). This includes thirteen formal amendments to the AIT and numerous regional agreements in Western, Central, and Atlantic Canada. Borrowing from the liberal International Political Economy (IPE) literature it argues that existing regional agreements complement and offer a potential framework for broader internal trade reforms at the national level. Of these the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) offers a promising model for Canada's internal market, with revised rules and norms related to negative lists, labour mobility, procurement, and investment and dispute settlement. Ongoing efforts to remove barriers will also be linked to a strengthened Internal Trade Secretariat, confidence-building measures, increased transparency and further reform of technical language.

Abstract. This study examines public statements by female candidates for the leadership of major federal parties in the period 1975–2006, with reference to the conceptual literature on political representation. Was the willingness of women politicians to voice feminist rhetoric more closely related to extra-parliamentary dynamics, notably the changing fortunes of feminist and antifeminist movements, or to parliamentary factors, including the ideological as well as competitive circumstances of their parties? The empirical discussion suggests feminist content was particularly strong in the language of Rosemary Brown for the NDP in 1975, Kim Campbell for the PCs in 1993 and Martha Hall Findlay for the Liberals in 2006. Overall results point toward the utility of a two-pronged perspective that merges a parliamentary view that centre-left through centre-right parties, as well as those in an opposition or weak governing position, were more likely sites of feminist discourse than hard right and firmly competitive parties, with a movement-focused approach that explains the diminished use of representational rhetoric during this period, even in relatively hospitable parties, with reference to the declining legitimacy of organized feminism. Unlike in the US, women candidates in right parties in Canada did not use their campaigns as vehicles for voicing strong antifeminist positions.

Résumé. Cette étude survole la littérature conceptuelle sur la représentation politique et examine ainsi les déclarations publiques faites par les candidates lors des courses à la direction des principaux partis politiques fédéraux pendant la période allant de 1975 à 2006. La volonté des politiciennes d'exprimer la rhétorique féministe était-elle davantage apparentée à la dynamique extra-parlementaire, notamment la force des mouvements féministes et antiféministes, ou plutôt aux facteurs parlementaires comme l'idéologie et la compétitivité de leur parti? La discussion empirique suggère que le contenu féministe était particulièrement important dans le vocabulaire utilisé par Rosemary Brown pour le NPD en 1975, par Kim Campbell pour le PPC en 1993 et par Martha Hall Findlay pour le PLC en 2006. Les résultats indiquent qu'il est utile, pour ce type d'étude, de considérer une fusion des deux approches. La première est une perspective parlementaire, qui suggère que les partis se situant sur le spectre politique entre le centre-gauche et le centre-droit, de même que ceux qui se trouvent dans une position d'opposition ou de gouvernement faible ou minoritaire, sont les plus réceptifs aux discours féministes. La deuxième approche (movement-focused) porte son attention sur les mouvements sociaux pour expliquer la diminution de l'utilisation de la rhétorique représentationnelle pendant cette période, et ce, même dans les partis relativement réceptifs au féminisme organisé. Contrairement à la situation aux États-Unis, les candidates à la direction des partis de droite au Canada n'ont pas utilisé la course à l'investiture de leur parti comme tremplin pour exprimer de fortes positions antiféministes.

At present, the federal government is engaged in community-based self-government negotiations with a number of Indian bands and tribal groups across Canada with the objective of bringing about legislative arrangements for a limited form of self-government outside the Indian Act. An important part of these negotiations involves the federal government's promise to allow the incorporation of “customary or traditional structures,” where desired, into redesigned Indian governments. This article explores the difficulties confronting Indian leaders in their attempts to revitalize traditional governing practices within their respective communities. Through a comparison of traditional and contemporary governing practices in two plains Indian societies, the Blood and Peigan Nations, this article addresses the question of whether present Indian government, which represents an externally imposed form based on the Indian Act, has been institutionalized within these communities. If institutionalization has occurred, then a return to traditional governing practices, the author argues, is effectively precluded. After analyzing traditional and contemporary governing practices the author concludes that strong traditionalist orientations remain within these Indian communities, thus providing the opportunity for political revitalization.

This article seeks to provide an overview of the political thought of Egerton Ryerson (1803–1882), the influential political controversialist and educational reformer of nineteenth-century Upper Canada. It attempts to unravel Ryerson's thought in such a way as to go beyond earlier interpretations which have insisted that, despite the presence of certain countervailing reformist tendencies in his politics, Ryerson was at bottom a thorough conservative. In contrast to this view it is argued here that Ryerson was a thoroughly modernist thinker who accepted the basic teachings of the liberal tradition. It is also suggested that Ryerson was aware of certain key problems which a society premised on these teachings must inevitably face, problems such as narrow selfishness, private individualism and vulgar materialism. The article concludes that it was Ryerson's intention to correct these strong tendencies in liberal society by emphasizing the centrality of public spirit, moral cultivation and religious belief to a free polity's well-being.

Do Canadians’ preferences for Canada's role in the world depend on who Canada acts with and not just what Canada does? This question is particularly important in the context of overseas military intervention, which Canada never undertakes on its own. This paper presents a survey experiment measuring how support for a hypothetical peace operation changes with the leader of the mission. Missions led by the United Nations and by Canada's European allies receive more support than American-led missions do, especially among respondents who also favour peace operations for substantive reasons. The finding suggests that the UN and the European connection are alternative ways for a mission to benefit from a preference for multilateralism. While the results confirm some tension between American-led missions and internationalism, European partnerships may offer a way of reconciling an interest in alliances with the internationalist Canadian public.

Abstract. Sustainable development needs to be tackled at all governmental levels. Moreover, policies need to be integrated, horizontally and vertically. This article studies the efforts of subnational governments and their strategies towards vertical policy integration. Four cases are compared: Quebec (Canada), Flanders (Belgium), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and North Holland (the Netherlands). The assumption is that their approaches are determined by their degree of autonomy, which involves their competences within their own borders (self-rule) and their influence on national decision making (shared rule). The findings, however, show that degree of autonomy does not shape the subnational governments' stance towards vertical policy integration for sustainable development. Rather, it is influenced by other factors, such as political dynamics. The analysis also puts forward that the degree of self-rule of subnational governments has a large influence on the content of sustainable development policies, not only at the subnational, but also at the national level.

Résumé. Le développement durable doit être poursuivi à tous les niveaux de pouvoir. En plus, les politiques doivent être intégrées horizontalement et verticalement. Cet article étudie les efforts des gouvernements sous-nationaux et leurs stratégies envers l'intégration politique verticale. Il compare quatre cas d'étude: le Québec (Canada), la Flandre (Belgique), la Rhénanie-du-Nord-Westphalie (Allemagne) et la Hollande Septentrionale (Pays-Bas). L'assomption est que leur approche se détermine par leur degré d'autonomie, qui est constitué par leurs compétences à l'intérieur de leurs propres frontières (self-rule) et par leur pouvoir à influencer la prise de décision nationale (shared rule). Cependant, les résultats démontrent que le degré d'autonomie ne détermine pas la position des gouvernements sous-nationaux envers l'intégration politique verticale pour le développement durable. Leur position est influencée plutôt par d'autres facteurs, tels que le contexte politique. L'analyse propose aussi que le degré de self-rule des gouvernements sous-nationaux a une grande influence sur le contenu des politiques de développement durable, non pas seulement au niveau sous-national, mais aussi au niveau national.

On 11 January 2013, French president François Hollande justified a military intervention in Mali on the basis of the possible collapse of the Malian state, which faced an armed rebellion in the north of the country. Thus, the war was authorized and explained by the inability of the Malian government to respond to the threat. However, explanations and analyses that focus on security hide more than they reveal, including the ontological aims of the war and its identity stakes. To uncover these aspects, this article articulates the interaction between, on the one hand, the deployment of international violence, and, on the other, the construction of the state and the political imagination in Mali. This article concludes that peace in Mali was sought through the militarization of democratic governance, effectively reinforcing the prewar governance model. Unlike analyses focused on security, this article demonstrates that the boundaries and limits of the Malian conflict are not only territorial but also ideological and identity-based.

This article examines resolutions passed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1982 to 1997, which targeted specific states, governments and other political actors for violations of human rights. The types of actors that were named, their regional distribution and the actions taken by the Commission are each analyzed. Among the findings presented are that the Commission's effectiveness has been limited by its inability to address most systematic government violations of human rights, by a lack of universality in its application of international standards and by a recent trend toward consensus decision making.

This article re-evaluates Graham Allison's approach to bureaucratic politics in the second edition of his Essence of Decision, authored with Philip Zelikow. Although the renewed analytical framework still appears to be an excellent tool for describing policy decision-making processes, the numerous criticisms it received in the past with respect to its difficult operationalization is a problem left unsolved. To respond to this major difficulty, the author of this article combines Vincent Lemieux's structuration of power with Allison's approach. In order to validate the ensuing model, an empirical test is then conducted using the case study of the 1987 Canadian White Paper on Defence. This original proposition opens up avenues of research in the fields of foreign as well as public policy making.

This article examines the interrelationship between and the relative importance of individual leadership and structural power in promoting (or impeding) regime implementation. The theoretical debates on structural power and individual leadership are related to a particular case of regime implementation: the efforts of the Preparatory Commission on the International Seabed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to make the international seabed regime operational. The article concludes that hegemonic stability theory highlights a variable—structural power—which in this case is the key determinant of the ability to exert influence. On the other hand, hegemonic stability theory fails to establish causal links and it ignores other important variables, such as the constraints imposed by changes in the domestic environments of leading states as well as in the international environment. In the pulling and hauling of international negotiations aimed at regime implementation, individuals can and do play significant roles as structural, intellectual and, most particularly, entrepreneurial leaders.

It is only natural that Canada should most frequently be compared with the United States, and that models, metaphors, and theories of the political system that are applicable to the one should be assumed to be applicable to the other. That there are certain close similarities is obvious: both are federations, both span the North American continent, both are affluent Western democracies, and both exist within the common economic framework of modern capitalism. These and other similarities, however, too often obscure the significance of those differences which do exist, or cause similarities which exist with other countries to be neglected. This is particularly true of European countries, even though it would appear to be the case that Canadians, with their strong linguistic and cultural differences, have a good deal in common with at least some Europeans. This is not to say that Canada is more European than American. It is merely to suggest that there may be some advantages to be gained from occasionally viewing Canadian politics from a European perspective.

This note traces the reasoning behind Riker's addenda to Duverger's law, which exempts Canada and India from its general determinism. Characteristics common to Canada and India, but not to other countries using the plurality electoral system, are examined. The study finds that the uniqueness of those two federal nations employing the simple-majority system lies in the dominance of one national party, the weakness of the conventional alternative governing party, and the persistence of ideological parties of the left.