Money, Politics, and Democracy: Canada’s Party Finance Reforms

In 2004, Jean Chrétien’s Liberals banned corporations and unions from funding political parties. In 2008, opposition leaders were prepared to defeat the Conservative government over its proposal to eliminate public subsidies to political parties.In Money, Politics, and Democracy, Lisa Young and Harold Jansen lead a distinguished group of political scientists in exploring the issues that led to the dramatic showdown. Are publicly funded parties compatible with the basic tenets of democracy? What effect have party finance reforms had on the balance of power between parties and donors, on the relationship between national parties and local organizations, on electoral competition? This timely volume reveals that the financial centre of gravity for political parties is shifting between national and local organizations as individual donors replace unions and corporations. To ensure their financial survival, parties must now maximize their numbers of seats and votes.The first comprehensive study of modern campaign finance reforms in Canada, Money, Politics, and Democracy suggests that campaign finance reforms have shaped party organization and electoral competition, contributing to successive minority governments.