The experts weigh in
For the first time in Canadian history, leading political scientists, communications scholars and practitioners from across Canada have come together to publish a collection of innovative, unique and accessible analyses of the federal election, just days after October 19th.
Edited by Memorial University political science associate professor (and associate dean of Arts) Dr. Alex Marland, the open-access electronic project of Canadian Election Analysis 2015: Communication, Strategy, and Democracy, is now available for download at http://www.ubcpress.ca/canadianelectionanalysis2015/CanadianElectionAnalysis2015.pdfcourtesy of UBC Press and Samara Canada, a national charity.
The launch of this collection is also accompanied by a blog series that will profile one expert’s analysis of the election per day on Samra’s website. The blog articles will be released every morning starting on November 9th and offer readers an expert—and commute-worthy—read.
From Memorial University to the UBC, 66 Canadian experts have come together to respond, in both English and French, to the 42nd general election. This kind of diverse and rapid reaction to an election is unprecedented in Canada (the authors were given less than 96 hours to craft their responses!).
“These contributors have invaluable insight into current events,” said Jane Hilderman, executive director of Samara Canada. “We are very proud that our blog will feature such an accessible and rapid response to the election, and that it will be a space where experts can reach a wide audience.”
Melissa Pitts, Director of UBC Press, added “When Alex first presented the idea of gathering together opinions on the election from Canada’s leading thinkers in such a timely and exciting way, we immediately wanted to participate. This is a valuable initiative and Alex, Thierry and all of the contributors are to be applauded for their visionary service to Canadian political discourse.”
Edited by political scientists Alex Marland (Memorial University) and Thierry Giasson (Université Laval), the open-access pdf and Samara’s blog series covers all aspects of a modern election, including:
- the successes and failures of political ads;
- how the political parties branded themselves;
- the nuances of public opinion survey coverage;
- how voter databases changed get-out-the-vote techniques;
- how the youth vote differed in 2015; and
- how cabinet ministers seeking re-election fared in the election.
“Academics are often accustomed to longer lead times and word counts, but the response we had to our request for an article was an immediate and unqualified YES. The depth and breadth of the experience and knowledge that these pieces represent is remarkable and an important record,” said Dr. Marland.
For further information on the collection and a complete list of contributors please see www.samaracanada.com/samarablog.