Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. xviii, 477 pages; 24 cm

Summary

1. Do Conventions Matter? provides a complete overview of national party conventions in Canada. Courtney describes national party conventions from 1919 to 1993, including the selection of Stanfield, Trudeau, Broadbent, Clark, Mulroney, Turner, McLaughlin, Chretien, Campbell, and Manning. He 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.
2. 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 skyrocketing 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 our tradition of conventions to choose the leaders of federal parties and its possible demise in the near future.

Alternative title

1. Choosing national party leaders in Canada

Subject

1. 1900-1999
2. Political conventions > Canada
3. Political conventions > Canada > History
4. Prime ministers > Selection and appointment > Canada
5. Political conventions
6. Politics and government
7. Prime ministers > Selection and appointment
8. Kandidatenaufstellung
9. Parteiführer
10. Parteitag
11. Partijcongressen
12. Partijleiders
13. Kandidaatstelling
14. Canada > Politics and government > 20th century
15. Canada
16. Kanada

Genre/Form

1. History

Contents

1. 1. Introduction -- 2. Two Generations of Leadership Conventions -- 3. A Party's Backstop: Leadership Review -- 4. Mega-Bucks for Mega-Conventions -- 5. "Mediated" Conventions: From Print to Tube -- 6. Three Conventions in Four Years -- 7. Who's There? Representative Conventions -- 8. The Demographics of Leadership -- 9. From Announcement Day to Acceptance Day: The Net Worth of Networks -- 10. Who Wins? Convention Coalitions -- 11. Mail Order Leadership: One Member, One Vote -- 12. Federal Leadership Selection Reforms: The Wave of the Future? -- 13. Do Conventions Matter? Parties, Conventions and Canadian Democracy.

Owning institution

1. Princeton University Library

Bibliography (note)

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