Permanent Campaigning in Canada

This book is a provocative look at the growth of non-stop campaigning in Canada, and it offers fresh perspectives about the political marketplace that will be of interest to students and scholars of Canadian government, politics, and elections.

This book provides a provocative look at the growth of non-stop election campaigning in Canada and its implications for Canadian democracy and how we are governed.

Election campaigning never stops. That is the new reality of politics and government in Canada, where everyone from staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office to backbench MPs practise political marketing and communication as though each day were a battle to win the news cycle. Permanent Campaigning in Canada examines the growth and democratic implications of political parties’ relentless search for votes and popularity and what constant electioneering means for governance. With the emergence of fixed-date elections and digital media, each day is a battle to win mini-contests: the news cycle, public opinion polls, quarterly fundraising results, by-elections, and more. The contributors’ case studies reveal how political actors are using all available tools at their disposal to secure electoral advantage. This is the first study of a phenomenon – including the use of public resources for partisan gain – that has become embedded in Canadian politics and government.