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Big Tent Politics

The Liberal Party’s Long Mastery of Canada’s Public Life

R Kenneth Carty author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of British Columbia Press

Published:15th Dec '15

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Big Tent Politics cover

A masterful account of the Liberal Party’s long domination of Canadian politics.

How did Canada’s Liberal Party become one of the most successful parties in the democratic world? Will it be able to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century?

The Liberal Party of Canada is one of the most successful parties in the democratic world. It dominated Canadian politics for a century, practising an inclusive style of “big tent” politics that allowed it to fend off opponents on both the left and right. How did it do this? What kind of party organization did it build over the decades to manage its remarkable string of election victories?

This book traces the record of the party over the twentieth century, revealing the cyclical character of its success and charting its capacity to respond to change. It also unwraps Liberal practices and organization to reveal the party’s distinctive “brokerage” approach to politics as well as a franchise-style structure that tied local grassroots supporters to the national leadership.

R. Kenneth Carty provides a masterful analysis of how one party came to lead the nation’s public life. In a country riven by difference, the Liberals’ enduring political success was an extraordinary feat. But as Carty reflects, given the party’s not-so-distant travails, even with an election win, will it be able to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century?

Carty … is a leading authority on Canada’s political parties. He traces the history of the party, paying attention to its cycles against important changes in Canada’s demography (e.g., when increased immigration changed regional and national dynamics) and when parties entered the system.

-- G.A. McBeath * Choi

ISBN: 9780774830003

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 280g

176 pages