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I have had an active interest in Ontario politics, including two collaborative books. I also comment on current developments, such the following on the near breakdown of the PC Party in early 2018 and a comparison between the Mike Harris and Doug Ford governments.
The Politics of Ontario, co-edited with Cheryl Collier of the University of Windsor and published by University of Toronto Press (2016), is the first text on Ontario government and politics in two decades. Cheryl and I assembled fifteen contributors from nine universities across Ontario to write about both the enduring and rapidly changing aspects of Ontario politics. A key theme in The Politics of Ontario is whether Ontario's politics and political culture are rapidly changing, or still much the same as they have always been. The province has undergone economic disruption, become insecure in its place in Confederation, and is increasingly racially diverse, especially in the Greater Toronto Area. Yet many of the historic themes of Ontario politics - incremental change, balancing of interests, and in Bill Davis's famous words, "bland works" - still endure. Our book and its individual contributors each offer their own views on what's old and what's new in Ontario politics. |
Elections are not just about who casts ballots – they reflect the citizens, parties, media, and history of an electorate. Fighting for Votes: Parties, the Media, and Voters in an Ontario Election (UBC Press, 2015) examines how these factors interacted during a recent Ontario election. It is both a study of Ontario politics specifically, and the most complete account of a provincial election in Canada. I am one of four equal co-authors, along with Bill Cross, Laura Stephenson, and Tamara Small.
The book begins by examining the province’s political culture and history. We then delve deeply into the 2011 Ontario provincial election campaign by exploring three lines of enquiry that help define representative democracy: How do parties position themselves to appeal to voters? How is information from and about parties transmitted to voters? And how do voters respond to the information around them? We analyze this through a unique collection of evidence drawn from many different sources including political party websites, candidate surveys, advertisements, debate transcripts, Twitter feeds, and a survey of the electorate.
Elections are not just about who casts ballots – they reflect the citizens, parties, media, and history of an electorate. Fighting for Votes: Parties, the Media, and Voters in an Ontario Election (UBC Press, 2015) examines how these factors interacted during a recent Ontario election. It is both a study of Ontario politics specifically, and the most complete account of a provincial election in Canada. I am one of four equal co-authors, along with Bill Cross, Laura Stephenson, and Tamara Small.
The book begins by examining the province’s political culture and history. We then delve deeply into the 2011 Ontario provincial election campaign by exploring three lines of enquiry that help define representative democracy: How do parties position themselves to appeal to voters? How is information from and about parties transmitted to voters? And how do voters respond to the information around them? We analyze this through a unique collection of evidence drawn from many different sources including political party websites, candidate surveys, advertisements, debate transcripts, Twitter feeds, and a survey of the electorate.
