University of British Columbia Press
Reviving Social Democracy
The Near Death and Surprising Rise of the Federal NDP
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Reviving Social Democracy
The Near Death and Surprising Rise of the Federal NDP
In 2011, the NDP stunned political pundits by becoming the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. After near collapse in the 1993 election, how did the NDP manage to win triple the seats of its Liberal rivals and take more than three-quarters of the ridings in Quebec? This book examines the federal NDP’s transformation from “nearly dead party” to new power player within a volatile party system. Its early chapters – on the party’s emergence in the 1960s, its presence in Quebec, and the Jack Layton factor – pave the way for insightful analyses of issues such as party modernization, changing ideology, voter profile, and policy formation that played a significant role in driving the “Orange Crush” phenomenon.
Table of Contents
Introduction / Lynda Erickson and David Laycock
Part 1: Setting the Stage
1 Party History and Electoral Fortunes, 1961-2003 / Lynda Erickson and David Laycock
2 Building for a Breakthrough: The Layton Years, 2003-11 / Lynda Erickson and David Laycock
3 The NDP and Quebec / Lynda Erickson and David Laycock
4 Modernizing the Party / David Laycock and Lynda Erickson
Part 2: The Ideological Evolution of the Party
5 Conceptual Foundations of Continuity and Change in NDP Ideology / David Laycock
6 Ideological Evolution of the Federal Party, as Seen through Its Election Campaign Manifestos / François Petry
Part 3: Party Activists, Leaders, and Voters
7 Members, Activists, and Party Opinion / Lynda Erickson and Maria Zakharova
8 Party Leaders in the New Democratic Party / Amanda Bittner
9 Valence Politics, Policy Distance, and the NDP Vote / Maria Zakharova
10 The Issue Priorities of the NDP Core Constituency: How Different Are They? / Mark Pickup and Colin Whelan
Part 4: New Game, New Party?
11 Uniting the Left? The Potential for an NDP-Liberal Party Merger / Jean-François Godbout, Éric Bélanger, and Frédéric Mérand
12 The 2011 Election and Beyond / Steven Weldon
13 Future Scenarios: NDP Evolution and Party System Change / David Laycock and Lynda Erickson
Index