POLI 2220
Structures of Cana Parliam Gov
Canadian government is dominated by prime ministers and premiers. Why this concentration of power at both the federal and provincial levels of government? Are Members of Parliament who are not in the Cabinet really “nobodies” as one recent PM characterized them? Are Cabinets themselves becoming no more than “focus groups”? Do unelected partisan aides and public service advisors have more influence than the vast majority of elected representatives? Are political parties irrelevant as vehicles for citizen engagement? Are interest groups or social movements any more relevant? Do elections matter? Are the media merely the political instruments of the business elites? These are among the issues that are examined in this course in an attempt to understand the most critical factors that shape the structuring of power in contemporary Canadian government.
Sections
From the syllabus
From the Fall 2023 syllabus by Kristin Good. Fall 2026 is taught by Wigginton M., so details may differ. Open the PDF
Grading
Textbook
- The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada, Patrick Malcolmson, Richard Myers, Gerald Baier, and Thomas M.J. Bateman
Course rules
- Late work
- Reading responses submitted late receive a 2% penalty per day.
- Missed work
- A Student Declaration of Absence is required for missed deadlines or tests due to illness.
- Absence forms
- Up to two absence forms are accepted before a medical certificate is required.
- Missed tests
- With documentation, missed quizzes and midterms must be made up as soon as possible.
- Final exam
- A documented medical or family emergency may qualify for a make-up exam; travel is not a valid reason.
- AI tools
- Generative writing tools are not permitted unless explicitly authorized by the instructor.
- Recording
- Do not record lectures.
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