Guns for Votes

Wedge Politics in the Canadian Multiparty System

Bibliographic Data

ID6310227
AuthorsDavid Dumouchel (0000-0003-0023-7932, Université de Montréal, corresponding author), Catherine Ouellet (0000-0002-8642-5442, University of Toronto), Thierry Giasson (0000-0002-9839-1470, Université Laval)
Year2023
Volume76
Issue1
Pages85-106
Publication date2023-01-02
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueParliamentary Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-2290 • E-ISSN: 1460-2482
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/pa/gsab003
OpenAlexW3180582544
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited18

This article contributes to the emerging literature on wedge issues and on electoral strategies in multiparty electoral systems by studying the implementation and effectiveness of a concerted electoral communication strategy deployed by the Conservative party of Canada around the elimination of the gun registry, in the late 2000s. First, using a quantitative content analysis of the Parliamentary debates from 2006 to 2011, it reveals how the Conservatives exploited the issue in order to create divisions amongst opposing opposition MPs and amongst targeted segments of partisan voters of other national parties. Secondly, using georeferenced pool data from Vote Compass, it finds empirical evidence that the Conservatives’ efforts won them new support in the 2011 federal elections, especially amongst cross-pressured voters and within the ridings that were targeted during the debates. In doing so, the article provides a rare empirical example of wedge politics carried in a multiparty system

Democracy · Electoral system · Empirical evidence · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Wedge (geometry · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration

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