E03 - Politicians, Policy, and the People
Date: Jun 2 | Time: 10:30am to 12:00pm | Location:
Close to the People? The Accuracy of Local Politicians' Perceptions of Public Opinion in their Municipalities: Peter Loewen (University of Toronto), Jack Lucas (University of Calgary), Eric Merkley (University of Toronto)
Abstract: This paper combines a large public opinion survey (N≈12,000) with a survey of municipal mayors and councillors in every municipality above 10,000 population (N≈1,200) to explore how accurately Canadian local politicians perceive public opinion on local and national issues in their municipalities. Our analysis focuses primarily on two questions. First, we investigate if the scale of political representation – that is, whether politicians are elected in wards or at large – affects the accuracy of politicians' perceptions of local public opinion on a wide range of policy issues. Second, we investigate if the scale of the issues themselves – whether they are primarily local or national in character, and whether they are primarily municipal or federal jurisdiction – affects the accuracy of politicians' perceptions. Our findings have implications for contemporary debates on the quality of responsiveness and representation in Canadian local government, the role of local institutions in shaping responsiveness, and the nationalization of local politics in Canada.
Elections by Acclamation at the Municipal Level : What Does It Mean for Democracy ?: Jérôme Couture (Institut National de Recherche Scientifique), Sandra Breux (Institut National de Recherche Scientifique)
Abstract: Elections by acclamation are very frequent at the Canadian municipal level. For example, during the 2017 Quebec municipal elections, 48,0% of mayoral candidates and 55,7% of municipal councillors were elected without opposition. There are two main interpretations on the impact this has on local democracy 1) Uncontested elections are the result of a dysfunctional local democracy. A lack of voter information at the local level is seen to benefit outgoing candidates. Over time, such an electoral dominance is estimated to engender a political monopoly that reduces the competitiveness of elections, and thereby the accountability mechanisms of elected officials and their responsiveness to the needs and preferences of the population; 2) It is not so much the competitiveness of the election that testifies to the functioning of democracy but the nomination process. Here, a greater number of candidates is seen to indicate more dissatisfaction among the population, while, conversely, elections without any opposition a high level of public satisfaction with local elected officials. The purpose of this paper is to compare these two visions of things by comparing municipalities with or without a mayoral election based on a survey of 4,000 respondents during the 2017 Quebec municipal elections. In municipalities where the mayoral candidate was elected by acclamation, respondents are more satisfied with the functioning of democracy, are more satisfied with municipal services and elected municipal officials, and have even considered running for municipal office more so than respondents living in municipalities where the mayoral candidate was elected in an election.
Do Legislated Public Hearings for Land Use Planning Influence Council Decision-making? A Four City Comparison: Aaron Moore (University of Winnipeg), Alexandra Caporale (University of Winnipeg)
Abstract: In a move to make urban planning a more consultative process, many provincial governments in Canada now require municipalities to hold public hearings in front of all or part of council as part of the process of planning. These legislated public hearings are usually the only time concerned residents can express their opinion on planning proposals to council, in part, or as a whole. This paper investigates whether these hearings ultimately influence council decision-making, or whether they are merely a formality in the broader planning process. Using databases comprising all applications for official plan and zoning by-law amendment applications from 2012 through 2016 in Vancouver, Toronto, Surrey, and Brampton, we examine whether there is any evidence that the scale and nature of resident support of or opposition to development proposals during legislated public hearings influences councils’ final decision. We find that—while councillors in Surrey and Vancouver do react to resident opposition—none of the four cities show evidence that legislated hearings affect councils’ decision-making.
The Uses of Discretion: Policy and Politics in Discretionary Intergovernmental Infrastructure Funding in Canada: Martin Horak (Western University)
Abstract: Since 2002, the Canadian federal government has distributed over $45 billion in intergovernmental infrastructure grants. Most of this has been distributed through discretionary programs that give both provincial and federal officials a say in project selection. Yet the reasons for the continued emphasis on discretionary funding (as opposed to transfer funding, which is favored by local governments) is not clear.
In this paper, I draw on Infrastructure Canada’s open database of nearly 15,000 projects funded through such programs since 2002 to analyse patterns of federal infrastructure funding during the majority governments of Stephen Harper (2011-2015) and Justin Trudeau (2015-2019). I ask the following questions: 1. Is discretionary funding used to pursue stated and/or implicit federal policy priorities? 2. Is discretionary funding used by federal and/or provincial governments to pursue electoral advantage?
To address the first question, I compare funding patterns across the Harper and Trudeau governments by type of project, region, and rural/urban location. To address the second question, I build a geo-coded database of federally supported infrastructure projects by federal electoral constituency (Canada-wide), and provincial electoral constituency (in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia). I analyse whether federal funding during the Harper and Trudeau governments has flowed disproportionately to constituencies controlled by the governing party, and/or highly electorally competitive constituencies, both federally and provincially. The paper will offer the first comprehensive analysis of patterns of discretionary intergovernmental spending in Canada in recent years.