POLI 311 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Party System, Outlast, Caucus
12 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POLI 342
03.14.2018
How much influence does the parliament really have? Is it
ignored because it can be ignored? (Rempel)
During the Harper years the MPs did not have much
power or freedom to interact with academics or voice their
own views without his approval.
•centralization, as we’ve seen
•we are also seeing it in Trudeau’s government
Structural Causes
•Lack of legislation
•Lack of interest
•Lack of Resources
•Oppressive role of party discipline: “the party line”
•Pervasive culture of PM control
POLITICAL PARTIES
PARTY SYSTEM
Has been changing in the recent years
Party system affects both the Lower House and the
Upper House
•Lower House = House of Commons: where the 338
MPs are
•Upper House = Senate: power of the PM to fill
vacancies and appoint senators, senators have political
affiliations, very close to the party in power and
expected to push this agenda
Over the last decades, the Liberals and Conservatives
have battled for power.
Transformation in 1980s and 90s:
•emergence of Bloc Quebecois and Reform Party
•1993 elections
1993 ELECTION & BEYOND
PC Party almost wiped out as a party, Liberals become
dominant party, Bloc Quebecois becomes party of
Quebec and official opposition, Reform emerges as
“Prairie Party”
After 1993
The BQ as an opposition is weird because it is all in
Quebec and very underrepresented everywhere else.
The Reform party is just in the west, ignored in the
maritimes.
The Liberals are usually an all-Ontario group, very
skewed, until it becomes plagued with scandal in the
2000s and its hold on Ontario begins to loosen.
The Reform and the PC party are brought together with
Harper to make today’s Conservative Party.
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Document Summary
03. 14. 2018: upper house = senate: power of the pm to ll vacancies and appoint senators, senators have political af liations, very close to the party in power and expected to push this agenda. Is it ignored because it can be ignored? (rempel) Over the last decades, the liberals and conservatives have battled for power. During the harper years the mps did not have much power or freedom to interact with academics or voice their own views without his approval: centralization, as we"ve seen, we are also seeing it in trudeau"s government. Transformation in 1980s and 90s: emergence of bloc quebecois and reform party, 1993 elections. Structural causes: lack of legislation, lack of interest, lack of resources, oppressive role of party discipline: the party line , pervasive culture of pm control. Party system affects both the lower house and the. Upper house: lower house = house of commons: where the 338.
