LE3 .A278 2014

2014

Stewart, Ian

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Politics

Politics

Party leaders are the focal points of political parties. Political parties are the agents responsible for the selection of party leaders. Consequently, understanding the processes by which leaders are selected is vital to understanding the quality of democracy in Canada, as the leadership selection process must be democratic for the entire system to be democratic. This thesis analyzes the quality of democracy exhibited in the leadership selection practices of the Conservative, New Democratic, and Liberal parties of Canada. This thesis contrast academic literature on leadership selection practices with the most recent leadership elections of each party and conclusions are drawn that illustrate the changes in practices and in the quality of democracy exhibited in leadership elections. This thesis finds that the most recent leadership elections of each party reflect a continuing trend of democratization, as the most recent leadership contests are more democratic than previous leadership contests. The one-member one-vote (OMOV) method of leadership selection used by the NDP in their 2012 leadership election is found to be the most democratic leadership selection practice.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1103