Pivot or Pirouette? covers both the backstory and the aftermath of the strangest election in Canadian history, as told by an insider who was involved in the events before, during, and after the ballots were cast.

In the early 1990s, a pan-Canadian coalition of Tory voters had been splintered by constitutional politics. Discontented voters flocked to new regional parties; the Conservatives attempted to turn the tide by choosing the first female prime minister, but their efforts fell flat. In the 1993 election, the party was reduced to two seats, the separatist Bloc Québécois became the official opposition, and the Reform Party swept the West. Although the shocking results seemed pivotal, ultimately the pivot turned into a full pirouette as Canadian politics returned to historical norms: new parties shake up the system but are eventually absorbed into it, bringing innovation but not transformation. You can’t understand modern Canadian politics without understanding the 1993 election.

Tom Flanagan is Distinguished Fellow in the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. Former director of research for the Reform Party, and former campaign manager for Stephen Harper's Conservative Party, he is the author of Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power.

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Gerald Baier is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia.

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R. Kenneth Carty's profile page

As a research director for Reform in its foundational period and a key player in the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper, Flanagan is well placed to tell this story. The result is a well-written, first-rate election study.

CHOICE Connect

[Flanagan] is singularly suited to discuss this seismic election.

J.W.J. Bowden, The Dorchester Review