How Political Parties Imposed Total Discipline in Canada

Patrice Dutil talks to Jean-François Godbout, professor of Political Science at the Université de Montréal and the author of Lost on Division: Party Unity in the Canadian Parliament (University of Toronto Press). There has never been a shortage of people decrying the state of Canadian democracy, and one of the chief accusations has been that party discipline is strangling Parliament. There just isn’t enough opportunity for MPs to speak openly and without fear of retribution, either in the House of Commons or even outside parliament. Many argue that the stranglehold chokes innovation, party renewal and, in the case of a majority party, bolsters prime ministers even when they hardly deserve it. But how did it come to this? Where have all the parliamentary “loose fish” gone? Was there ever a golden age when Canadian parliamentarians could rival their colleagues in Congress, in the British House of Commons or in the Assemblée nationale in France? This podcast was produced by Jessica Schmidt. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: https://bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.