Absent mandate : strategies and choices in Canadian elections

Clarke, Harold D. (author.). Jenson, Jane, 1946- (author.). LeDuc, Lawrence, (author.). Pammett, Jon H., 1944- (author.).

Summary: "Absent Mandate develops the crucial concept of policy mandates, distinguishes them from other interpretations of election outcomes, and addresses the disconnect between election issues and government actions. Emphasizing Canadian federal elections between 1993 and 2015, the book examines the Chretien/Martin, Harper and Trudeau governments and the campaigns that brought them to power. Using data from the Canadian Election Studies and other major surveys, Absent Mandate documents the longstanding volatility in Canadian voting behaviour. This volatility reflects the flexibility of voters' partisan attachments, the salience of party leader images, and campaigns dominated by discussion of broad national problems and leaders rather than by coherent sets of policy proposals. The failure of elections to provide genuine policy mandates stimulates public discontent with the political process and widens the gap between the promise and the performance of Canadian democracy."--

Record details

ISBN: 148759481X
ISBN: 9781487594817
ISBN: 9781487594800
ISBN: 1487594801
Physical Description: print
xv, 209 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Publisher: Toronto ; University of Toronto Press, [2019]
Copyright: ©2019.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

The Strategic Configuration of Canadian Democracy -- Partisanship: Persistently Flexible -- A Politics of Discontent -- On the Issues -- Leading the Campaign -- Performances Politics and Electoral Volatility -- Policy, Performance ... Mandate? -- Conclusion: Continuities amd Change -- Appendix A. Political Parties' Percentages of the Vote, 1965-2015 Federal Elections -- Appendix B. Seats Won by Political Parties, 1965-2015 Federal Elections -- Appendix C. Vote in the 2015 Federal Election by Province/Territory and Sociodemographic Characteristics -- Appendix D. Federal Party Identification by Region and Sociodemographic Characteristics, 2015 -- Appendix E. Survey Data Sources.