Political Behaviour/Sociology

F12(a) - Voting

Date: May 31 | Time: 02:00pm to 03:30pm | Location: Classroom - CL 317 Room ID:15759

Chair/Président/Présidente : Jason Roy (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Ludovic Rheault (University of Toronto)

The Effects of Appearance on the Evaluation of Candidates in Quebec: Joanie Bouchard (Université Laval)
Abstract: In Canada, the effect of candidates' appearance on campaigning has been questioned as voters devote a lot of attention to political parties. However, little attention has been granted up to now to the Quebec electorate. Does appearance influence the evaluation of political candidates in Quebec? If yes, how? Using experimental and qualitative data, we show that voters are not indifferent to candidates' age, gender, and ethnicity.

809.Bouchard.pdf

Regionalized Voter-Party Proximity? Canadian Regions and the 2015 Federal Election: Jean-Philippe Gauvin (Queen's University), Mike Medeiros (University of Amsterdam)
Abstract: Recent research on Canadian electoral behaviour suggests voters tend to vote for parties that are ideologically close to themselves on multiple issue-dimensions. However, while the scholarship has explored the concept of ideology and how it plays out in terms of vote choice, it has not looked at the relationship between voter-party proximity and Canadian regionalism. Therefore, this paper asks the following question: Are the dynamics of voter-party ideological proximity different from one region to another? In other terms, are certain ideological dimensions more salient than others in specific Canadian regions? To answer this question, we use data from the 2015 Canadian Election Studies as well as new data from the Canadian Expert Survey Project. The paper thus explores how proximity between Canadian parties and voters influenced vote choice in the 2015 election in different regions of the country.

Proportional Representation and Turnout : Does Population Heterogeneity Matter?: Grégoire Saint-Martin-Audet (Université de Montréal), André Blais (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Recent studies have challenged the conventional wisdom that proportional representation (PR) systematically increases voter turnout. However, this relation doesn't seem to hold outside of Europe and no explanation has been found for the phenomenon. Our analysis of a dataset of 573 elections having taken place in 88 countries between 1970 and 2013 reveals that, while PR heightens turnout in ethnically homogeneous countries typically found in Europe, it doesn't have any impact when populations are heterogeneous. Furthermore, we find this is mainly caused by the fact that lower electoral distortions entailed by PR don't generate a greater propensity to vote in ethnically divided societies. This could be due to geographically concentrated minorities who can benefit from disproportional systems in order to secure more legislative seats than they could otherwise win in fully proportional systems.

890.Saint.Martin.Audet.pdf

Easier Said Than Done: Political Business Cycle in Canada 1867-2017: André Turcotte (Carleton University)
Abstract: Every four years or so, Canadian voters and politicians take part in a process which results in the electorate choosing those individuals who will rule over them until the next election. As Leduc and Pammett (2016) noted; “In every election, ‘the people speak.’ But in the aftermath of the vote, a voice can often be heard to whisper ‘but what did they say?’” (40) One of the main arguments put forth in trying to explain voting behaviour in Canada centres on the interaction between economic conditions and politics. The aim of this paper is to examine whether we can isolate a political business cycle for the period between 1867 and 2017. To achieve the research objectives, the paper will focus on a following set of variables: Political Support For the years between 1867 and 1935, political support will be operationalized as support for the incumbent party in federal elections. Economic Variables The study will look at the traditional economic variables typically used in the political business cycle literature: Real GDP Unemployment Rate Inflation Rate Real Disposable Income This analysis will be the first to model a political business cycle in Canada over such a long time span. The paper will also suggest that whereas conventional wisdom may hold the existence of a relationship between macroeconomics and political behaviour as self-evident, such a link may not be as obvious as it is generally believed