The Canadian General Election of 2000

ction timing. The personal decision by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to call an election in the fall of 2000 rather than the spring of 2001 appears in retrospect to have been a masterstroke of political

ation that something is going to happen — the question is, “What?”

The arguments that 2000 was a transitional election may appear a bit nebulous. They centre around the increase of support for the Canadian Alliance party, which achieved a growth of 7 percent in its popular vote over its predecessor, the Reform Party. Despite such an improvement in votes, particularly in the province of Ontario which had been a key element in the Alliance strategy, and despite an increase of six seats in Parliament, the Alliance campaign has been generally termed a failure. Expectations were for much higher than these incremental gains, and the measurement of performance against expectations rather than actual results often sets the tone for discussion, and indeed action.

The Canadian General Election of 2000 presents a puzzle of interpretation. In one sense, it resembles closely its predecessors of 1993 and 1997, which resulted in two majority Liberal governments. The Liberal victory in 2000 means the continuation of the dominance of that party, reasserting its control of the Federal Government for a third straight term in office. It appears unassailable, free to enact as much or as little legislation as it wishes, free to brush off opposition criticisms and ignore minor scandals, free to even now position itself to win a 2003/4 election by selecting the agenda for public discussion in the intervening years

Mary McGuire and Janice Neil

The Politics of Values:

Designing the 2000 Liberal Campaign

by Michael Marzolini

Fallen Heroes:

Leaders and Voters in the 2000 Canadian Federal Election

by André Turcotte

The People’s Verdict

by Jon H. Pa