The pre-eminence of advertising in Canadian elections

The three national parties have filed their election expenses and there are some surprises but the most important message from the filings with Elections Canada is the central role that advertising plays in modern election campaigns.   While no one would doubt its importance, the Liberals took it to a new level spending 64% of… Continue reading The pre-eminence of advertising in Canadian elections

Electoral Reform at the Manning Centre Conference

On February 27, I was asked to speak on a panel about electoral reform with former B.C. MLA, Nick Loenen and Conservative critic for Democratic Institutions, Scott Reid at the Manning Centre Conference in Ottawa. Nick made the case that single transferable vote would be the best option for any reform while Scott argued that there were many… Continue reading Electoral Reform at the Manning Centre Conference

Discussing Elections at John Wesley Dafoe Conference, U of Manitoba

I am really looking forward to talking about elections at the John Wesley Dafoe Conference at the University of Manitoba, January 28-29, 2016. The conference is titled “Elections:  Democratic Tools or Democracy Denied?” My panel on ‘Future Challenges’ is with Richard Balasko the former CEO of Elections Manitoba and Prof. Tamara Small, with whom I… Continue reading Discussing Elections at John Wesley Dafoe Conference, U of Manitoba