Municipal Elections in Quebec: How Political Parties can Strengthen the Democratic Process
Faculty
Social Science - Political Science
Supervisor Name
Professor Martin Horak and Professor Zack Taylor
Keywords
Elections, urban and local governance, Quebec, acclamation, incumbent, municipalities, mayors
Description
This storyboard examines the 2017 Quebec mayoral elections. Specifically, this storyboard explores rates of incumbent re-election, elections won by acclamation and the impact of political parties on the democratic process. I also use ArcGIS software to provide a visualization of the 2017 mayoral elections in Quebec. Over the course of my analysis, I found that the rates of incumbent re-election and elections won by acclamation were extremely high. However, I also found that these rates are lower in urban centres that have political parties. After examining the role of political parties within municipal elections, I conclude that political parties benefit the democratic process. Political parties help individuals challenge incumbents by providing an organizational structure to engage volunteers, receive donations, and mobilize supporters. Finally, I support this argument by referencing other work done in the field of urban and local governance.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge that this research would not have been possible without the Undergraduate Student Research Internship. I would also like to thank the library for all of their support. Finally, I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Martin Horak and Professor Zach Taylor, for their guidance. I am excited to learn more about the field of urban and local governance and how I can use my new research skills to further explore how academia can work alongside policymakers and politicians to improve cities across Canada and around the world.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Document Type
Poster
Municipal Elections in Quebec: How Political Parties can Strengthen the Democratic Process
This storyboard examines the 2017 Quebec mayoral elections. Specifically, this storyboard explores rates of incumbent re-election, elections won by acclamation and the impact of political parties on the democratic process. I also use ArcGIS software to provide a visualization of the 2017 mayoral elections in Quebec. Over the course of my analysis, I found that the rates of incumbent re-election and elections won by acclamation were extremely high. However, I also found that these rates are lower in urban centres that have political parties. After examining the role of political parties within municipal elections, I conclude that political parties benefit the democratic process. Political parties help individuals challenge incumbents by providing an organizational structure to engage volunteers, receive donations, and mobilize supporters. Finally, I support this argument by referencing other work done in the field of urban and local governance.