ELECTIONS IN CANADA CHAPTER 4 LESSON 2

CAMPAIGNING Process by which candidates make the policies of their parties, or their own policies known to the electorate; Federal election campaigns have to be at least 36 days long; Candidates will travel to all of the areas within their riding in order to make their values known; Use of modern media is a new way of getting the message out to the public;

CAMPAIGNING The campaign is also a mix of public appearances, debates and discussions with people in a riding, or for a federal campaign, the entire country; Provincial campaigns are shorter than the federal campaign, but run in much the same manner; Municipal and regional campaigns rely heavily on door-to-door meetings in order to let residents get to know candidates;

WHO PAYS FOR CAMPAIGNS? Although there is no limit to how much a party can raise on a campaign, there are strict rules that have to be followed for who donates the money; Donators have to be –Canadian citizens or permanent residents –Business or association doing business in Canada –Union with bargaining rights in Canada –Foreign businesses or governments are forbidden from contributing to a domestic election campaign. Why is this?

CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES Campaigns are run at the local and national / provincial levels; Electors vote for a local representative (MP or MPP) and for a leader (Prime Minister or Premier); The local representative has to win their seat by the first past the post system and so does the leader, who also wins if their party gains the largest number of seats (greatest # of ridings won);

CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES In the modern era politicians (at any level) are heavily scrutinized for their language, behaviour and policies during the campaign; The success of a candidate depends upon how they react to and interact with the public and the press; They have to watch their statements and sometimes rarely go outside the standard safe version of answers that are prepared; Why is this not helpful to the voting public?

MacDonald and MacKenzie

Trudeau and Clark

DEBATES The debate is likely the best way to get to know the intentions and personality of the candidates; It is still, however, not always accurate; Usually televised and includes a number of parties with significant representation; Great opportunity for little known parties or those who are behind in the polls;

DEBATES Vice-President R. Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy in 1 st televised debate in 1960 Why are televised debates so important today?

DEBATE ONTARIO 2007

ADVERTISING IN A CAMPAIGN Mass media advertising is a means of demonstrating your competence or your opponents incompetence; Just as with other aspects of the campaign, there are many rules for proper conduct; Under the Elections Act, all television stations have to set aside equal time for candidates or parties to advertise for free (based on number of seats and number of candidates running); The parties also pay for advertising time;

ADVERTISING IN A CAMPAIGN Businesses, lobby groups and special interest groups also advertise (paid) for a political party that they want you to support; Unions, professional organizations may suggest who you should support in an election; Although you are not forced to vote for the suggestion, the organization looks for the candidates that best represent the interests of your organization; What are some organizations that may have interest in particular candidates or parties?

ATTACK ADS These are advertisements that create an impression of a candidate or a party reflecting undesirable traits – either politically or personally; They can either demonize the candidate, or they can backfire on the party;

ATTACK ADS Sometimes the advertisements are even noted in foreign news, or with commentary regarding party policies that are not beneficial to Canada; Consider the following: ad-washington-times ad-washington-times

ATTACK ADS These types of ads are usual, but have to take into consideration the public opinion and public sense of fairness and fair play; Consider the following from 1993:

FORMING A GOVERNMENT MAJORITY –A party that controls half plus one of the seats in a House; –Every time there is a vote in the House, (as long as all of the party Members vote the same way) the Government will win the vote; –Gives the Governing party almost unlimited power in the House to pass all of its policies;

FORMING A GOVERNMENT MINORITY –No single party has the required half plus one number of seats in the House; –The party with the largest number of seats is asked to form a government; –Passing bills requires co-operation with the opposition parties, or at least bills that agree with opposition party policies; –Opposition party with a number of seats to aid the government is considered to have the balance of power;

FORMING A GOVERNMENT COALITION –Rarest form of government formation; –A government that consists of members from more than one of the political parties; –A minority government can invite members from an opposition party to sit in the Cabinet (Executive) in order to gain support for key policies (should ensure support from that opposition party); –Also makes the governing party more sensitive to the concerns of a greater number of members;

REFERENDUMS A national or provincial free vote on a particular policy or election issue; Initiated by the Government in order to gain an accurate understanding of a particularly important issue; Constitutional Amendment (1992) Provincial concerns (Quebec 1995)

POLITICAL SPECTRUM HOWARD HAMPTON – NDP (LEFT) JOHN TORY – CONSERVATIVE (RIGHT) DALTON MCGUINTY – LIBERAL (CENTER)

ELECTION 2007 What are the main election platforms for the Ontario election in 2007? What is the purpose of the Provincial Referendum? What is your position on the political spectrum? Do you agree with the policies of the party associated with your result?