1. Political Parties & the Party System
Chapter 9

2. Learning Objectives Origins of Canada’s party system
Brokerage politics
Role of minor parties
Party finances

3. Political Party
Organized group that nominates candidates and contests elections to influence the personnel and policies of government.

4. Seven Functions of Parties
Integrating citizens into the political system
Developing policy
Elite recruitment
Organization of government
Structuring the vote
Organizing public opinion
Interest aggregation

5. Canadian Parties First Party System, 1867-1921
Liberals and Conservatives dominated Canadian politics.
Conservatives began in 1854 with MacDonald
Mackenzie headed the Liberal government from
Went from one-party dominance of Conservatives to two-party system with Liberals and Conservatives on equal footing.

6. Prime Ministers, 1867-1921 John A. Macdonald Conservative 1867-1873
Alexander Mackenzie
Liberal
John Abbott
John Thompson
Mackenzie Bowell
Charles Tupper
1896
Wilfrid Laurier
Robert Borden
Arthur Meighen

7. Second Party System,
Two-party system to a two-plus or two-and-a-half party system.
Dominated by Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent.
1921, farmers entered with progressive candidates.
CCF formed in Calgary in 1932.
1933, Regina Manifesto adopted.
1935 Social Credit, 1935.

8. Prime Ministers, 1921-1957 Mackenzie King Liberal 1921-1926
Arthur Meighen
Conservative
1926
R.B. Bennett
Louis St. Laurent

9. The Third Party System, 1957-1993
Altering minority and majority governments.
NDP created in 1961.
1980s, three-party system.
NDP was entrenched as the third national party.

10. Prime Ministers, 1957-1993 John Diefenbaker PC 1957-1963
Lester Pearson
Liberal
Pierre Trudeau
Joe Clark
John Turner
1984
Brian Mulroney
Kim Campbell
1993

11. Fourth Party System, 1993-? Emergence of two new regional parties.
Multi-party system.
Canadian politics have become more regionalized.

12. The Broker System
Political parties are conciliators, mediators, or brokers to the cleavages in Canadian society.
They maximize their appeal to the most number of voters.
This reduces the ideological stance of the Liberals and Conservatives and underscores the fight for the middle.

13. Class-based Parties
The development of the CCF and the NDP underlines the theory behind class-based parties.
These parties were disenfranchised by the traditional Liberal/Conservative collusion.

14. One-party Dominance
The view that the Liberals are the natural governing party in Canada.
Conservatives have assumed the role of opposition party.
The NDP are labeled the innovation party.

15. Decline of Parties
Traditional parties have been taken over by other institutions.
Parties gear their activities to the media.
Public opinion polls serve a better role than the Members of Parliament to gauge public opinion.

16. Minor Parties Factors that influence the emergence of minor parties:
Region
Ethnicity
Class
The economy
Charismatic leadership.

17. Rise of Minor Parties,  Region Ethnicity Class Economy Leader
Progressives 
CCF
Social Credit
Reconstruction
Bloc Populaire
NDP
Creditists
Libertarian
Christian Heritage
Green
Confederation of Regions
Reform
Bloc Quebecois

18. Party Organization Parliamentary party, or party caucus.
Party’s elected representatives in parliament.
Extra-parliamentary party
Party activists and executive members,
Headquarters
Bureaucracy, staff
Ordinary party members

19. Mass and Cadre Parties Cadre Mass
Small local or national elite dominate
Parliamentary party selects leaders
Depends on small number of large donations
Permits the parliamentary party to formulate party policy
Run by elite
Mass
Large membership
Leader chosen at convention
Financed on membership fees
Allows membership input on policy
Operates democratically

20. General Structure and Operations
Conventions
Held regularly
Election of party executive, policy discussion
Leadership
Party Executive
Party Headquarters
Federal-Provincial Party Links

21. Iron Law of Oligarchy Roberto Michels.
Tendency towards elitism is inevitable within all political parties.
Leaders create small group of advisors who hold majority of power.
Parliamentary wing of party claims precedence over party.

22. Party Ideology Can parties be placed on a left-right continuum?
Does the scale given in the text provide better coherence.
What would your scale look like?