Social Conservatives And The Boundary Of Politics In Canada And The United States

"The strength of the Tea Party and Religious Right in the United States, alongside the Harper Conservatives' stance on same-sex marriage and religious freedom in Canada, has many asking whether social conservatism has come to define the right wing of North American politics. In this timely and penetrating book, James Farney provides the first full-length comparison of social conservatism in Canada and the United States from the sexual revolution to the present day. Based on archival research and extensive interviews, it traces the historic relationship between social conservatives and other right-wing groups. Farney illuminates why the American Republican Party was quicker to accept social conservatives as legitimate and valuable allies than the Conservative Party of Canada. This book will be indispensable for understanding why a movement so powerful among American conservatives has been distinctively less important in Canada and how the character of Canadian conservatism means it will likely remain so."--Publisher's website.

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.

The strength of the Tea Party and Religious Right in the United States, alongside the Harper Conservatives’ stance on same-sex marriage and religious freedom in Canada, has many asking whether social conservatism has come to define the right wing of North American politics. In this timely and penetrating book, James Farney provides the first full-length comparison of social conservatism in Canada and the United States from the sexual revolution to the present day. Based on archival research and extensive interviews, it traces the historic relationship between social conservatives and other right-wing groups. Farney illuminates why the American Republican Party was quicker to accept social conservatives as legitimate and valuable allies than the Conservative Party of Canada. This book will be indispensable for understanding why a movement so powerful amongst American conservatives has been distinctively less important in Canada and how the character of Canadian conservatism means it will likely remain so.

On May 2, 2011, as Canadians watched the federal election results roll in and Stephen Harper’s Conservatives achieve a majority, it appeared that we were witnessing a major shift in the political landscape. In reality, Canadian politics had been changing for quite some time. This volume provides the first account of the political upheavals of the past two decades and speculates on the future of the country’s national party system. By documenting how parties and voters responded to new challenges between 1993 and 2011, this book sheds light on one of the most tumultuous periods in Canadian political history.

Written by the foremost authorities, The Canadian Federal Election of 2011 provides a complete investigation of all aspects of the campaigns and the outcome of the election. The Canadian Federal Election of 2011 is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the campaign and election outcome. The chapters, written by leading academics, examine the strategies, successes, and failures of the major political parties the Conservatives (Faron Ellis and Peter Woolstencroft), the Liberals (Brooke Jeffrey), the New Democrats (David McGrane), the Bloc Qubcois (Eric Belanger and Richard Nadeau), and the Green Party (Susan Harada). Also featured in this volume are chapters on the nature of local campaigning (Alex Marland), the polls (André Turcotte), the campaign in the new social media (Mary Francoli, Josh Greenberg and Christopher Waddell), and the nature of modern conservatism (Jonathan Malloy and Jim Farney). The book concludes with a detailed analysis of voting behaviour in 2011 (Harold Clarke and Tom Scotto) and an assessment of whether Canada is headed for a Stephen Harper dynasty (Jon H. Pammett and Lawrence LeDuc). Appendices contain all of the election results.

Cet ouvrage couvre la période qui va de 1758 à nos jours.

Ideologies in Action: Morphological Adaptation and Political Ideas explores how political ideas move across geographical, social and chronological boundaries. Focusing on North American and European case studies ranging from populist tax revolts through parenting advice manuals to online learning environments, the contributors propose new methods for understanding how political entrepreneurs, intellectuals and ordinary citizens deploy and redefine ideologies. All of these groups are consumers of ideology, drawing on pre-existing, transnational ideological concepts and narratives in order to make sense of the world. They are also all producers of ideology, adapting and reconfiguring ideological material to support their own political aims, desires and policy objectives. In doing so, they combine common conceptual elements – interpretations of freedom, order, national identity, democracy, community or equality – with sentiments and imaginations deeply embedded in cultural and social practice. To render these ideological practices intelligible, the contributors to this volume blend conceptual morphology, which emphasizes how meaning emerges in and through connections between political ideas, with close readings of the vernacular and experiential dimensions of ideologies in action. This book offers new insights into how ideologies in varied social and political settings can be decoded, and challenges hierarchical distinctions between ideological ‘producers’ and ‘consumers’. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Political Ideologies.

The two studies in Interest Groups and Elections in Canada explore the nature and influence of special interest groups. They consider different aspects of the question, "In the context of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, how can the laws intended to secure a fair electoral process be reconciled with freedom of expression?" Janet Hiebert reviews the limits on interest groups adopted in 1974 and amended in 1983, profiles the groups involved int he 1988 federal election, and discusses relevant legislation and jurisprudence in the provinces and abroad. She concludes that spending limits for parties and candidates will only be effective if there are also restrictions on independent expenditures during elections by groups and individuals. Brian Tanguay and Barry Kay assess the influence attributed to locally oriented interest groups, including by members of Parliament, and conclude that these organizations have less influence on the political process than is the popular view. The authors conclude that dissatisfaction is a key variable explaining the role of these interest groups and their activities during elections.