Lecture 5 Readings Flashcards
importance of leadership selection in Canada
Leadership selection is one of the most important and consequential functions of Canada’s political parties
debate of leadership selection
Canada has been at the forefront in devising selection methods that include an ever-growing number of voters in the leadership decision, but still only a fraction of a party’s partisans participate in the leadership choice
argument of political parties in leadership selection
Parties argue that selecting a leader is an internal matter and participation should be limited to their members and organized in whatever fashion they deem appropriate
leadership selection process of conservatives and liberals
The federal Conservatives and Liberals have adopted methods that combine the participatory advantages of every-member votes with the collective decision of making the delegate convention
the evolution of leadership selection
- For the first 10 years following confederation, Canadian political parties left leadership selection solely to the discretion of the members of the party elected to the legislature
- In 1919 the Liberals became the first national party to select their leader at a convention of party elites
- This favoured a more democratic and representative selection process
- In 1927, the Conservatives ended the practice of selecting leaders by a vote of caucus members
- For the next several decades, party leadership selection took place at semi-open, moderately competitive conventions
- Conventions ranged from about 1200-1700 delegates that were more diverse than the parties’ parliamentary causes, but still not representative of the general population
- In the late 1960s, the Conservatives and Liberals developed a more open selection process with 1,000 more delegates and a greater number of competitive candidates
- The number of women and youth delegates increased dramatically
- The focus of competition in leadership shifted to what is known as “trench warfare”
- In response to criticisms of the delegate convention, parties in the 1980s and 1990s began selecting their leaders through a direct vote by party membership
trench warfare
when leadership candidates began to mobilize supporters to elect convention delegates supportive of their candidates
This led to an exponential increase in the cost of leadership campaigns
why is direct election a more democratic process?
- They are more accessible to grassroots members than leadership conventions
- The participation of members in direct elections is more meaningful than participation in delegate selection meetings, as each member can cast an unmediated vote for their preferred leader
- All voters are treated equally in that each is only allowed one vote
how does leadership selection work now?
Both the Liberals and the Conservatives now use a hybrid model that amounts to a combination of delegate convention and direct election merged into a single process
regulation of party leadership selection
Party leadership selections are private events of private organizations so they are not publicly regulated
how are direct elections conducted?
Direct elections have been conducted using various voting methods including telephone votes, mail-in ballots, regional voting sites, riding-based voting, and one central convention
common requirements for direct election voting
- A voting fee (usually $10-25)
- Members must belong to the party for a certain length of time before being eligible to participate
Three methods of translating direct election votes into a new leader
- Counting the votes and declaring the elected candidate with a majority of the votes. If no majority is reached, consecutive ballots are held until a majority decision is reached.
- Each local constituency is awarded 100 votes and these votes are awarded to the leadership candidates’ proportionate share of the votes received by each candidate from voters in that constituency
- A particular class of members is guaranteed to have their votes weighted at a particular percentage (ex. Affiliated labour unions have 25% of the total votes cast in the federal NDP)
voter participation in direct election
- The number of voters participating in direct leadership elections varies dramatically
- Only a fraction of any party’s supporters participate in leadership contests
Participation in direct elections is influenced by:
- The type of process used
- The competitive status of the party
the type of direct election process used and voter turnout
- Participation is the highest in riding-based processes, possibly because this is what Canadians are very familiar with
- Participation rates are significantly lower when a substantial voting fee is charged
the competitive status of the party and direct election voter turnout
Participation rates are higher when parties hold power at the time of their leadership contest
voter turnout for direct elections in Canada vs. the US
In the U.S. primaries, a much higher percentage of people vote, but they have no requirements of party membership or voting fee
inclusiveness of direct elections
- The evidence is conflicting on whether direct election produces a more representative electorate
- Some studies have found the direct election voters to be more representative on some sociodemographic characteristics
- In a direct election, there is no way to ensure an equitable number of voters in each region
voting delegates based on leadership support
- Voting in delegate selection contests is an indirect expression of support for a leadership candidate
- But, half of local association presidents said the most important factor was how active the delegate candidates had been in local party affairs, while under one-third said support for a particular leadership candidate was the most important factor
- The traditional convention process offers no guarantee that delegates will vote for a particular candidate at a convention
criticisms of direct elections
- Voters in these contests have less information available to them than delegates do
- Leadership decision is turned over to those who are not strongly committed to the party
collective decision-making and leadership conventions
The small size of the electorate in leadership conventions allows delegates to engage in collective decision-making
5 benefits of the hybrid leader selection model
- Party members cast a direct vote for a leader, not solely for a delegate candidate.
- Delegates are chosen on a proportionate basis reflecting the members’ leadership preference.
- Delegates are bound to follow the members’ wishes on the first ballot.
- Delegates are free to engage in collective decision-making at the convention on any subsequent ballots.
- Ridings are afforded an equal number of delegates ensuring equitable regional representation at the convention.
the evolution of leadership removal
- For the first 100 years after Confederation, there was no formal mechanism for members of a party to challenge a sitting leader; they were only replaced upon their retirement or death
- In the mid-1960s, both the Liberals and Conservatives adopted formal procedures for regular reviews of their leaders by membership in convention
leadership removal today
Leaders now have their tenure in office renewed by a periodic vote of delegates at party conventions
