Small P and Large P Politics and the F Word

Each end of term when I teach Introduction to Canadian Government and Politics (Pols 2230E) the class performs a simulation. This term it is a First Ministers' Meeting to establish a coordinated plan to combat COVID-19. Keeping it topical helps them engage and some "simulated" news coverage enhances that. Here is the first edition of the Simulation Times , reporting on the first day of meetings and some of the ensuing negotiations.  Like, many other Canadians, the students in the class have to figure out how federalism works in terms of areas of separate and shared jurisdiction. It is also interesting how often the first response of the group representing the Federal Government is to go with a "draconian" desire for central control, reflecting the real continuing desire of Ottawa to get some sort of control over Confederation. It is an interesting learning moment for them, because without the full hindsight and historical context they don't see using the Eme...

I was honoured to be a participant on this panel discussing ranked ballots organized by Burlington Councilor Lisa Kearns. It was an interesting, informative, and very enjoyable evening. Many thanks to Lisa for organizing it.  Here is what I more or less said. And below that I'll try to upload the recording.  I want to point out that most political parties select their leaders using some form of ranked ballots, even if it’s a series or run offs. This includes Doug Ford as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, notwithstanding the handicapping of urban ridings. Most recently, the selection of Erin O’Toole as Conservative Party of Canada leader was done by ranked balloting. If it hadn’t been done this way, we would be seeing Peter MacKay as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada rather than him resigning from politics once again. The attraction in selecting a leader by ranking preferences is the legitimacy it gives the winning candidate, as being the popular ch...

From Five Thirty Eight in the U.S. this is an awesome exploration of sexism and women in politics. Please follow the link. When Women Run One hundred years after women were granted the right to vote, the U.S. has more women in political office than ever before. Yet gender has been a major theme of the 2020 campaign, as candidates, voters and the media debate whether a woman can win the presidency. To better understand what it’s really like to try and win an election as a woman, we spoke to women from every state who have done it — 97 women in all. These are their stories, in their words. Each chapter contains highlights from our interviews. Interviews have been lightly edited for clarity. https://fivethirtyeight.com/audio-features/when-women-run/?s=09#af-chapter-3 (Picture August de Richelieu, Pexels)