Do conventions matter? : choosing national party leaders in Canada / John C. Courtney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Courtney, John C. (John Childs), 1936-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political leadership--Canada.

Political leadership.

Political conventions--Canada.

Political conventions.

Political conventions--Canada--History.

Prime ministers--Selection and appointment--Canada.

Prime ministers.

Canada--Politics and government--20th century.

Canada.

Physical Description:

xviii, 477 p. ; 24 cm.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Choosing national party leaders in Canada

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Buffalo : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1995.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Do Conventions Matter? provides a complete overview of national party conventions in Canada, from 1919, when the first convention was held, to 1993, including the selection of Stanfield, Trudeau, Broadbent, Clark, Mulroney, Turner, McLaughlin, Chrétien, Campbell, and Manning. Courtney compares leadership selection practices in Canada with those in the United States, Britain, and Australia, and shows that Canadian conventions remain a distinctive means of choosing party leaders. Focusing on modern developments in the convention process, Courtney highlights changes in representation over the last thirty years, addresses criticisms about costs and delegate selection practices, and examines the role of the media. He concludes with an examination of the future of conventions in the context of Canadian democracy, given sky-rocketing costs, the movement to reform political parties, and the push towards a universal membership vote. He argues convincingly that the objectives of greater representation and greater democracy explain both the emergence of conventions to choose the leaders of federal parties and their possible demise in the near future.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Diagrams, Tables, and Appendices

Preface

Introduction

Two Generations of Leadership Conventions

A Party’s Backstop: Leadership Review

Mega-Bucks for Mega-Conventions

"Mediated" Conventions: From Print to Tube

Three Conventions in Four Years

Who’s There? Representation and Leadership Selection

The Demographics of Leadership

From Announcement Day to Acceptance Day: The Net Worth of Networks

Who Wins? Convention Coalitions

Mail Order Leadership: One Member, One Vote

Federal Leadership Selection Reforms: The Wave of the Future?

Do Conventions Matter? Parties, Conventions, and Canadian Democracy

Tables

Appendices

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [451]-465) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85366-X

9786612853661

0-7735-6569-8

OCLC:

1380733322