Democratic Reform in New Brunswick is a comprehensive collection of research papers written initially for the New Brunswick Commission on Electoral Democracy. The essays provide detailed consideration of the many issues relating to democratic and electoral reform currently on the public policy agenda in Canada.
Topics covered include: electoral system change, gender and representational issues, questions relating to party democracy, the role of legislators, concerns around drawing electoral boundaries, fixed election dates, direct democracy, and political disengagement among young voters. All of the essays examine the implications of various reform proposals in these areas and most draw upon the experiences of other jurisdictions in addressing how they might play out in the Canadian context. Many chapters also draw specifically upon the New Brunswick experience in considering how democratic reform might impact upon the province's politics.
New Brunswick is Canada's only bilingual province with two vibrant linguistic communities and is in many ways a microcosm of the Canadian state. These readings provide insight into how issues related to democratic and electoral reform may play out on the national stage.

William Cross is Associate Professor of Political Science at Carleton University. His recent publications include Political Parties (UBC Press 2004); Political Parties, Representation and Electoral Democracy in Canada (Oxford University Press, 2002); and Rebuilding Canadian Party Politics (UBC Press 2000, with R. Kenneth Carty and Lisa Young).

Dr. Cross' work also appears in numerous academic journals. He has served as Director of the Canadian Democratic Audit since 2000.

William Cross' profile page