Lecture 6 Readings

Question 1

Maclean’s survey methodology

Answer 1

Expert respondents were asked to rank Prime Ministers on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding)

Question 2

trudeau vs. harper’s ranking

Answer 2

Trudeau scored higher than Harper 3.27 vs. 2.97

Question 3

greatest prime ministers according to the Maclean’s survey

Answer 3

• The greatest Prime Ministers were William Lyon Mackenzie King, Wilfrid Laurier, and John A. Macdonald
• For younger respondents and Quebecers, Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau tied for third

Question 4

what were the traits respondents thought made for effective leadership?

Answer 4

• An aptitude for holding onto power
• A clear record of accomplishments
• A sensitivity to national unity
• Performing well in times of crisis
• The criteria for effective leadership evolved, with more emphasis on Indigenous issues and environmental policies since the 2011 survey

Question 5

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Answer 5

• Ranked as the best PM
• His achievements included gaining independence, founding the welfare state, and navigating wartime challenges

Question 6

Wilfrid Laurier

Answer 6

• Ranked as the second-best PM
• He was praised for his cultural sophistication, intellect, and commitment to tolerance and compromise

Question 7

John A. Macdonald

Answer 7

Fell to third place since the 2011 survey due to revelations about systemic campaigns against Indigenous people

Question 8

Pierre Trudeau

Answer 8

• Was praised for remaking Canada and battling Quebec separatism
• He was criticized for isolating certain communities and the near victor of the Ys side in the 1995 referendum

Question 9

Lester B. Pearson

Answer 9

• Pearson recognized for the Canadian flag, medicare, and peacekeeping
• He has maintained a positive reputation

Question 10

Brian Mulroney

Answer 10

• He is considered transformative for policies like free trade and pension reform
• He received positive evaluations for his long-term legacies

Question 11

Jean Chretien

Answer 11

• Assessments of Chretien vary
• Some praise him for his deficit reduction and decisions related to Quebec, while others condemn him for the Quebec independence vote and the sponsorship scandal

Question 12

Stephen Harper

Answer 12

• Was ranked the 12th-best PM
• Harper faced criticism for environmental policies, Senate issues, and his approach to Muslim women and the Niqab during the 2015 election campaign

Question 13

future challenges for Trudeau

Answer 13

• Trudeau could secure a lasting impact by addressing Indigenous dispossession and destitution, going beyond the current national inquiry
• The Prime Minister is urged to frame his program as a recognition of long-denied rights rather than a favour, potentially positioning him favourably in future surveys

Question 14

the presidentialization of parliamentary systems

Answer 14

Some scholars argue that voters are increasingly taking into account the personality of the leader they are voting for rather than the political party
According to these scholars, voters in parliamentary systems behave like voters in presidential systems where the direct vote for a presidential candidate places the perception of leaders front in centre in the vote calculus (called presidentialization)

Question 15

what is the assumption underlying presidentialization?

Answer 15

The assumption that party leaders matter in the first place underlies the hypothesis of presidentialization

Question 16

reasons for expecting voters to consider party leaders

Answer 16

• The party leader will become the PM
• The media places leaders front and centre
• It is psychologically easy for voters to evaluate party leaders because it mirrors how we evaluate people in our daily lives
• Voter may use their perceptions of party leaders as a shortcut, helping them to decipher which party to support

Question 17

how do we assess party leaders?

Answer 17

Recent studies show that we assess party leaders in terms of their character and competence

Question 18

character

Answer 18

includes traits like trustworthy, honest, caring, and empathetic

Question 19

competence

Answer 19

includes traits such as intelligence and strength of leadership

Question 20

perception of leaders’ personalities by party

Answer 20

Voters perceive and expect conservative leaders to be more competent but they perceive and expect leaders on the left to have more character

Question 21

leaders’ personalities in the U.S.

Answer 21

In the U.S., the impact of leaders’ personalities fluctuates from year to year but traits have not become more important in the country

Question 22

feeling thermometers

Answer 22

Scholars assess voters’ feelings toward party leaders with “feeling thermometers”, which makes cross-national and overt-time comparison easier

Question 23

problems with feelings thermometers

Answer 23

• The meaning of the feelings question may be confusing for voters
• It may be difficult to capture real feelings toward party leaders with these thermometers
• It is difficult to disentangle the dependent variable (vote of choice for a party) from the independent variable (party closest to a voter on a given valence issue)

Question 24

what arguments do scholars who claim that leaders are becoming increasingly polarized use?

Answer 24

• The decreasing importance of partisanship
• Changes in the media environment
• The erosion of traditional political cleavages

Question 25

ratings of leaders by politcal party findings

Answer 25

• NDP candidates have been rated the most highly in all years on the character dimension
• Conservative leaders have been perceived as the most competent in most elections

Question 26

partisanship findings

Answer 26

Partisanship peaked in 2000 and then began decreasing

Question 27

ideological leanings findings

Answer 27

• Ideological leanings by partisan groups have been fairly consistent over time
• The NDP showed the most movement and the Conservatives showed the least

Question 28

trait perception of leaders across and within parties findings

Answer 28

Voters have perceptions of leaders’ personalities but they differentiate between party leaders across parties and within parties

Question 29

conclusion of presidentialization research

Answer 29

there is no evidence that there is increased presidentialization in Canada. Leaders have always mattered

Question 30

trait perception of party leaders and vote choice findings

Answer 30

There are marginal effects of trait perception for leaders of the three main parties