The Regional Decline of a National Party : Liberals on the Prairies / David E. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, David E., Author.

Series:

Heritage

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liberal Party of Canada.

Prairie Provinces--Politics and government.

Prairie Provinces.

Canada--Politics and government--1945-1980.

Canada.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 188 pages)

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

During the past twenty years, the Liberal party has shown a marked failure to hold a place in the hearts and minds of the voters of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Professor Smith here argues convincingly that the party is largely the author of its own downfall through insensitivity to regional concerns and ignorance of the implications of its centralizing tendencies. Smith views the reforms which helped restore the Liberals to federal power after defeat in 1957 as a primary cause of the party's continuing poor electoral performance in the region. He chronicles that shift from a political structure dominated by strong provincial spokesmen like Gardner and Garson to the reorganized federal Liberal party, which emphasizes control from national headquarters and favours a more scientific approach, relying on opinion polls, ad agencies, and campaign colleges for candidates. The result has been a decline in voter support and a lack of regional participation in party councils - and the adoption by the party of policies unacceptable to the West. The west thus has come to perceive the Liberal party as dominated by eastern Canada and preoccupied with the problem of Quebec separatism. The consequences have become increasingly evident at election times.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgements

Note on Abbreviations and Citations

Introduction

PART I: THE REGION

PART II: THE PARTY

PART III: THE NATION

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Nov 2019)

ISBN:

1-4875-7487-8

OCLC:

1102654976