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Political Science Political Parties

The Canadian Party System

An Analytic History

by (author) Richard Johnston

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2017
Category
Political Parties, Canadian
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774836074
    Publish Date
    Sep 2017
    List Price
    $39.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774836081
    Publish Date
    Jan 2019
    List Price
    $34.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774836098
    Publish Date
    Sep 2017
    List Price
    $34.95

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Description

The Canadian party system is a deviant case among the Anglo-American democracies. It has too many parties, it is susceptible to staggering swings from election to election, and its provincial and federal branches often seem unrelated. Unruly and inscrutable, it is a system that defies logic and classification – until now.

 

In this political science tour de force, Richard Johnston makes sense of the Canadian party system. With a keen eye for history and deft use of recently developed analytic tools, he articulates a series of propositions underpinning the system. Chief among them was domination by the centrist Liberals, stemming from their grip on Quebec, which blocked both the Conservatives and the NDP. He also takes a close look at other peculiarities of the Canadian party system, including the stunning discontinuity between federal and provincial arenas.

 

For its combination of historical breadth and data-intensive rigour, The Canadian Party System is a rare achievement. Its findings shed light on the main puzzles of the Canadian case, while contesting the received wisdom of the comparative study of parties, elections, and electoral systems elsewhere.

About the author

Richard Johnston is Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation at the University of British Columbia.

Richard Johnston's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, Seymour Martin Lipset Best Book Award, American Political Science Association
  • Short-listed, Donald Smiley Prize, Canadian Political Science Association

Editorial Reviews

By tackling the big claims regarding parties, elections, and electoral systems in Canada, and by placing his analysis in a comparative framework, Johnston has done the discipline a huge service[…]Simply put, The Canadian Party System is foundational reading.

The Canadian Historical Review

Johnston has written a book that will be required reading for students of Canadian politics for decades to come. In identifying and explaining the role of the Liberal and Conservative parties and their relationship to Québec, while also highlighting the importance of what he calls ‘insurgent’ third parties, Johnston provides a valuable explanatory framework for the unique nature of Canada’s party system.

The Ormsby Review