Candidates and Local Campaigns

Abstract

A recent political anthropology argues that the character of Canadian parties' constituency election campaigns is largely determined by the nature of their local associations' nomination politics, as shaped by the electoral appeal of the constituencies in which it takes place. Three characteristics of the nomination process define a model that suggests there are only four basic types of candidate in Canadian elections, each producing a distinctive campaign organization and style in terms of both constituency activity and the integration of the local campaign with that of its national party. In this article, we use the data from a national survey of local associations of the national parties to explore the applicability of the proposed typology and test hypothesized party organizational and campaign relationships that flow from this theory of local campaign politics.