Curious about the upcoming election? Looking for background information to better understand what’s going on? Confused about the Canadian political process? Here are some books, journals and websites that can help.
Books
These books are also on display in the library.
- How Canadians Govern Themselves. By Eugene A. Forsey. 2010.
Call number: JL65/F67/2010
An easy to understand introduction to our system of government.
Also available online. - How Parliament Works. By John Bejermi. 2000.
Call number: Ref JL136/B48/2000 - Canada’s Electoral Process: Frequently Asked Questions. Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2007.
Call number:
Pamphlet files PRB 05-46E.
Also available online. - A History of the Vote in Canada. Elections Canada. 2007.
Call number: JL193/H57/2007. - The Language of Canadian Politics: A Guide to Important Terms and Concepts. By John McMenemy. 1995.
Call number: Ref JA61/M33/1995. - The Origins of Canadian and American Political Differences. By Jason Kaufman. 2009.
Call number: E183.8/C2/K38/2009.
Examines why the political systems of Canada and the United States are so different. - Fixing Canadian Democracy. Edited by Gordon Gibson. 2003.
Call number: JL167/F59/2003.
Ideas from a Fraser Institute conference on reforming our political process. - The Trouble with Canada… Still! A Citizen Speaks Out. By William D. Gairdner. 2010.
Call number: HN103.5/G35/2010 - Value Change and Governance in Canada. Edited by Neil Nevitte. 2002.
Call number: JL186.5/V34/2002 - Citizens. By Elisabeth Gidengil. 2004.
Call number: JL187/C58/2004
Examines Canadian citizens and their knowledge of and participation in politics. - Political Parties. By William Cross. 2004.
Call number: JL195/C76/2004.
Looks at different aspects of Canadian political parties, from their functioning as membership organizations to how they select candidates and leaders, to how they conduct election campaigns. - In Search of Canadian Political Culture. By Nelson Wiseman. 2007.
Call number: JL65/W57/2007.
Looks at the political of Canada and its regions/provinces. - Speaking Out: Ideas that Work for Canadians. By Jack Layton. 2004.
Call number: FC635/L39/2004.
NDP leader Jack Layton shares his vision for Canada. - The Right Balance: Canada’s Conservative Tradition. By Hugh Segal. 2011.
Call number: JC573.2/C3/S44/2011 - Harperland: The Politics of Control. By Lawrence Martin. 2010.
Call number: FC640/M37/2010 - Divided Loyalties: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1984-2008. By Brooke Jeffrey. 2010.
Call number: JL197/L5/J44/2010 - Losing Confidence: Power, Politics, and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy. By Elizabeth May. 2009.
Call number: JL15/M39/2009.
Green Party leader Elizabeth looks at the problems in Canadian politics and calls on Canadians to change things. - Gilles Duceppe: entretiens avec Gilles Toupin. 2010.
Call number: FC636/D82/T68/2010 - Le Bloc Québécois: 20 ans au nom du Québec. Marie-France Charbonneau & Guy Lachapelle. 2010.
Call number: JL197/B56/C43/2010
A history of the Bloc Québécois. - Le Bloc. By Manon Cornellier. 1995.
Call number: J1197/B56/C6713/1995. - Imagine Democracy. By Judy Rebick. 2000.
Call number: FC635/R42/2000
Political commentator Judy Rebick offers her vision for a more democratic Canada. - The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada. By Marci McDonald. 2010.
Call number: FC640/M33/2010
Argues that the religious right is having an increasingly large impact on Canadian politics. - Bastards & Boneheads: Canada’s Glorious Leaders, Past and Present. By Will Ferguson. 1999.
Call number: FC25/F47/1999.
A humorous look at past Canadian prime ministers. Which ones were bastards and which were boneheads? - The Best Laid Plans: A Novel. By Terry Fallis. 2007.
Call number: PS8611/A45/B47/2007
For more Canadian political humour, try this novel which satirizes the Ottawa political scene. One of the Top 10 Canada Reads 2011 books. - Youth voter turnout in Canada. 1, Trends and Issues. By Andre Barnes. Library of Parliament. 2010.
Call number: Pamphlet Files PRB 2010-19E.
Also available online. - Youth voter turnout in Canada. 2, Reasons for the decline and efforts to increase participation. By Myriam Ménard. Library of Parliament. 2010.
Call number: Pamphlet Files PRB 2010-21E.
Also available online.
Journals
- The Canadian Political Science Review – Peer-reviewed open access journal, available free online.
- Our subscription databases also contain relevant information on Canadian politics. The ProQuest CBCA database has the Canadian Journal of Political Science (delayed one year). To follow coverage of the election in the press, search the Canadian newspapers available in ProQuest Canadian Newsstand or use EUREKA to search newspaper and other media content in both French and English.
Websites
- Elections Canada. The agency that oversees our elections. Their website includes information for young voters.
- Political parties (in alphabetical order):
- Three Hundred Eight. A blog analyzing Canadian political polls. (308 is the number of seats in Parliament.)
- Canada Votes 2011. Election coverage from the CBC.
- Election coverage from Macleans.
- Vote Compass – answer questions on your political opinions and find out which party’s positions are closest to yours.
- How did your neighbourhood vote in 2008? From Cyberpresse, an interactive online map allowing you to see voting results by polling station (the place where people in a given neighbourhood go to vote).
McGill students “vote mob”:
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