Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:45:53.343Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is Canada a Westminster or Consensus Democracy? A Brief Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2006

Donley T. Studlar  and
Kyle Christensen
Donley T. Studlar
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
Kyle Christensen
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Because of its mix of institutions and practices, the fundamental nature of the government of Canada is a problematic case for scholars. A reconsideration of the Canadian polity needs to be undertaken because of events over the past quarter century, such as the development of executive federalism; the repatriation of a revised Constitution from the supervision of the United Kingdom over the objections of Quebec; the rejection of the constitutional settlements in the Meech Lake Accord (1990) and the Charlottetown Accord (1992); increased attention to the claims of Aboriginal peoples; increased movements for relaxing party discipline in Parliament and for a more proportional electoral system; increased controversy over the use of judicial review in interpreting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and, above all, the ongoing problem of national unity, especially stemming from the Quebec separatist movement.An earlier version of this paper was presented at a conference of the Association of Canadian Studies, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thanks to Arend Lijphart for data and comments.

Type
SYMPOSIUM—THE POLITICS OF CANADA
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , October 2006 , pp. 837 - 841
Copyright
© 2006 The American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bakvis, Herman. 1991. Regional Ministers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Cairns, Alan C. 1968. “The Electoral System and the Party System in Canada, 1921–1965.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 1: 55–80.Google Scholar
Cairns, Alan C. 1991. Disruptions: Constitutional Struggles from the Charter to Meech Lake. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Cannon, Gordon. 1982. “Consociationalism vs. Control: Canada as a Case Study.” Western Political Quarterly 35 (1): 50–64.Google Scholar
Docherty, David C. 2005. Legislatures. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Flinders, Matthew. 2005. “Majoritarian Democracy in Britain.” West European Politics 28 (1): 61–93.Google Scholar
Johnston, Richard. 1993. “An Inverted Logroll: The Charlottetown Accord and the Referendum.” PS: Political Science and Politics 26 (March): 43–8.Google Scholar
Laakso, Markku, and Rein Taagepera. 1979. “‘Effective’ Number of Parties: A Measure with Application to Western Europe.” Comparative Political Studies 12: 3–27.Google Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1984. Democracies. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Lijphart, Arend. 1996. “The Puzzle of Indian Democracy: A Consociational Interpretation.” American Political Science Review 90 (2): 258–68.Google Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven: Yale University Press.
McRae, Kenneth. 1997. “Contrasting Styles of Democratic Decision-making: Adversarial versus Consensual Politics.” International Political Science Review 18: 279–95.Google Scholar
Manfredi, Christopher. 2001. Judicial Power and the Charter: Canada and the Paradox of Liberal Constitutionalism. 2nd ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Milner, Henry, ed. 2004. Steps Toward Making Every Vote Count: Electoral System Reform In Canada and Its Provinces. Peterborough: Broadview Press.
Russell, Peter H. 2004. Constitutional Odyssey: Can Canadians Become a Sovereign People? 3rd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Siaroff, Alan. 1999. “Corporatism in 24 Industrial Democracies: Meaning and Measurement.” European Journal of Political Research 36: 175–205.Google Scholar
Smith, T. Alexander, and Raymond Tatalovich. 2003. Cultures at War: Moral Conflicts in Western Democracies. Peterborough: Broadview Press.
Studlar, Donley T. 2003. “Consequences of the Unreformed Canadian Electoral System.” American Review of Canadian Studies 33 (Autumn): 313–38.Google Scholar
Weaver, R. Kent. 1997. “Improving Representation in the Canadian House of Commons.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 30: 473–512.Google Scholar