Lecture 5 Readings

Question 1

importance of leadership selection in Canada

Answer 1

Leadership selection is one of the most important and consequential functions of Canada’s political parties

Question 2

debate of leadership selection

Answer 2

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

Question 3

argument of political parties in leadership selection

Answer 3

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

Question 4

leadership selection process of conservatives and liberals

Answer 4

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

Question 5

the evolution of leadership selection

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

trench warfare

Answer 6

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

Question 7

why is direct election a more democratic process?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

how does leadership selection work now?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

regulation of party leadership selection

Answer 9

Party leadership selections are private events of private organizations so they are not publicly regulated

Question 10

how are direct elections conducted?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

common requirements for direct election voting

Answer 11

• A voting fee (usually $10-25)
• Members must belong to the party for a certain length of time before being eligible to participate

Question 12

Three methods of translating direct election votes into a new leader

Answer 12

• 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)

Question 13

voter participation in direct election

Answer 13

• The number of voters participating in direct leadership elections varies dramatically
• Only a fraction of any party’s supporters participate in leadership contests

Question 14

Participation in direct elections is influenced by:

Answer 14

• The type of process used
• The competitive status of the party

Question 15

the type of direct election process used and voter turnout

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

the competitive status of the party and direct election voter turnout

Answer 16

Participation rates are higher when parties hold power at the time of their leadership contest

Question 17

voter turnout for direct elections in Canada vs. the US

Answer 17

In the U.S. primaries, a much higher percentage of people vote, but they have no requirements of party membership or voting fee

Question 18

inclusiveness of direct elections

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

voting delegates based on leadership support

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

criticisms of direct elections

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

collective decision-making and leadership conventions

Answer 21

The small size of the electorate in leadership conventions allows delegates to engage in collective decision-making

Question 22

5 benefits of the hybrid leader selection model

Answer 22

1. Party members cast a direct vote for a leader, not solely for a delegate candidate.
2. Delegates are chosen on a proportionate basis reflecting the members’ leadership preference.
3. Delegates are bound to follow the members’ wishes on the first ballot.
4. Delegates are free to engage in collective decision-making at the convention on any subsequent ballots.
5. Ridings are afforded an equal number of delegates ensuring equitable regional representation at the convention.

Question 23

the evolution of leadership removal

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

leadership removal today

Answer 24

Leaders now have their tenure in office renewed by a periodic vote of delegates at party conventions

Question 25

the issue with leadership removal today

Answer 25

a leader selected by a large number of party members can be removed from office by a vote of far fewer convention delegates

Question 26

parliamentary support and leadership removal

Answer 26

Leaders cannot maintain their position for long once they lose the support of their parliamentary colleagues

Question 27

strengths of Canadian leadership selection

Answer 27

• There has been a steady evolution toward more participatory and inclusive forms of leadership selection
• Parties are allowed wide discretion in selecting leadership selection methods that reflect their particular democratic ethos
• Federal Liberals and Conservatives have adopted methods that allow for direct, unmediated participation of their members while preserving the collective benefits of party leadership conventions

Question 28

weaknesses of Canadian leadership selection

Answer 28

• Relatively few voters participate in leadership selection contests
• Parties routinely impose substantial barriers to participation, including voting fees and membership cut-off dates
• Parties are struggling with the question of who can fire a leader, particularly in situations where the authority to select and remove a leader lies with different groups within the party

Question 29

question of gendered media discourse of political leadership study

Answer 29

What leadership qualities are most likely to be emphasized in news reports about leadership competitions and are they attributed differently to female or male candidates?

Question 30

gendered media discourse of political leadership method

Answer 30

assessed 2,500 Globe and Mail articles about 10 women and 17 men who sought leadership in Canadian political parties between 1975 and 2012

Question 31

gendered media discourse of political leadership findings (summary)

Answer 31

• Women candidates were subjected to more negative and gendered assessments of their communication skills, intellectual substance, and political experience than male candidates were
• There is little evidence that gendered media discourses about political leadership have changed over time, especially in the case of women in the strongest position to become a party leader or Prime Minister (society is still uncomfortable with women in political positions)

Question 32

gender stereotypes in politics

Answer 32

Gender stereotypes prescribe men as possessing more strength, intelligence, and experience to be leaders, but women as more naturally suited to be helpmates

Question 33

the importance of media representation in politics

Answer 33

Media representation can create potent first impressions of candidates who could become Prime Minister

Question 34

leadership and social perception

Answer 34

Leadership is an inherently social process driven largely by social perceptions of leaders’ influence

Question 35

Two traits of high saliency during national party leadership

Answer 35

• Communicative performance
• Political acumen (craftsmanship)

Question 36

political acumen

Answer 36

made up of competence, intelligence, and experience

Question 37

stereotypical traits and leadership

Answer 37

Studies find that “good” male traits and “good” leadership traits overlap, but the same trend is not found for women

Question 38

language skills and gendered assesment

Answer 38

Language skills in Canada’s two official languages were one of the few leadership abilities not subjected to gendered assessment

Question 38

political journalism and gender stereotyping

Answer 38

• Political journalism tends to reinforce gender stereotyping
• It focuses on the personal traits of women while downplaying their leadership traits

Question 39

communication skills and gendered assessment

Answer 39

Women were subjected to greater negative media attention if their communication skills did not live up to expectations

Question 40

intelligence and gendered assessment

Answer 40

• Men were more likely than women to see their intelligence, knowledge, and expertise noted in news coverage
• Being “unintelligent” was less likely to dominate media coverage about men than it was for women

Question 41

political experience and gendered assessment

Answer 41

• Women candidates were significantly more likely than their male counterparts to be criticized for a lack of political experience
• Journalists tended to minimize the experience of women candidates who did have a background in federal politics

Question 42

“too much” political experience and gendered assessment

Answer 42

• Journalists were more likely to criticize male candidates for having been in office for too long
• It is unclear if this is gendered mediation or can be explained by the fact that significantly fewer women than men can claim long tenures in provincial and federal politics

Question 43

which women experienced gendered assessment the most?

Answer 43

Gendered mediation was the most intense for the most newsworthy of women candidates specifically for women who were about to achieve a historic first in politics or were highly atypical for female candidates

Question 44

leadership skills and gendered assessment

Answer 44

Men were more likely to receive complementary coverage of their leadership strengths and muted attention to their leadership weaknesses

Question 45

which women experienced gendered assessment the least?

Answer 45

• Mediation was less pronounced for less competitive women or those running for smaller parties
• This was often accompanied by limited interest in their leadership abilities overall