Electoral Strategies of the Canadian Left in A Predominantly Two-Party System

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Oliver Santín Peña

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the origin, developmentand strategies of the Canadian party-based left and its evolution as a political group to compete in federal elections. From its beginnings in the 1930s, the left as an organized movement of parties has had to adapt to a political system of British origin favoring a two-party system of liberals and conservatives. This condition reinforces our hypothesis and findings that the Canadian political system favors bipartisanship (liberal/conservative) excluding other parties to gain access to power, which constitutes a paradox of democracy. Consequently, finding and extending new bases of support and redesigning ideological principles around normative documents, are all elements that lend support to this political option in each electoral process.

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How to Cite
Santín Peña, O. (2017). Electoral Strategies of the Canadian Left in A Predominantly Two-Party System. Revista Mexicana De Ciencias Políticas Y Sociales, 62(231). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0185-1918(17)30039-9
Author Biography

Oliver Santín Peña, Centro de Investigaciones sobre América del Norte (cisan), unam. Correo electrónico: <oliversantin@hotmail.com>

Oliver Santín Peña es doctor en Ciencias Políticas y Sociales por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y se desempeña actualmente como investigador de tiempo completo del Centro de Investigaciones Sobre América del Norte (CISAN) de la UNAM. Sus líneas de investigación son: el sistema político canadiense, el sistema político de Estados Unidos, los procesos internos de los partidos políticos en Canadá y sus elecciones federales. Entre
sus más recientes publicaciones se encuentran: (como coeditor) Canadá y México bajo la era Harper: reconsiderando la confianza (cavilaciones en torno a siete décadas de relaciones diplomáticas) (2017); Sucesión y balance de poder en Canadá entre gobiernos liberales y conservadores. Administraciones y procesos partidistas internos 1980-2011 (2ª reimpr., 2017); y “Obama’s Canada doctrine and the campaign against terrorism” (2016, en The Obama Doctrine in the Americas, Security in the Americas in the Twenty-First Century).

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