This thesis uses a staples-based political economy approach, supplemented with regulation theory, to investigate why Canadian governments pursued interventionist or non-interventionist approaches to oil export policies over the years 1949-2002. Three distinct paradigms over this time period are identified and examined at multiple levels of analysis, with a focus on power relations as causal factors. Structural biases of the Canadian economy, namely staples dependence and continentalism, combined with entrenched political cleavages of national identity and federalism to influence the success or failure of paradigms of oil export policy. External crises and power shifts precipitated the creation and destruction of these paradigms. In between these transformations, hegemonies formed based upon social, political, and economic arrangements that mutually supported the negotiation of major structural cleavages. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the role of labour as a catalyst for the development of a new interventionist, anti-continentalist paradigm in oil policy.

L’appui des catholiques envers le Parti libéral du Canada est un intrigant comportement électoral. Si ce phénomène est bien documenté, et ce depuis des décennies, les politologues n’ont pas encore réussi à l’expliquer de manière satisfaisante. Jusqu’à présent, l’approche la plus commune a été de tester l’effet de plusieurs variables sur le comportement des catholiques, ce qui n’a guère été satisfaisant. Si ces études n’ont pas obtenu les résultats espérés, c’est parce que leurs auteurs ont mal abordé le problème, c’est-à-dire qu’ils ont considéré l’identité catholique comme une variable indépendante. Nous soutenons que ce sont plutôt des questions d’ordre ethnolinguistique, plutôt que religieux, qui expliquent le comportement politique des catholiques. Nous identifions d’abord les origines temporelles de ce vote des catholiques pour les libéraux. Puis, nous déterminons si ce changement a eu lieu en même temps et pour les mêmes raisons chez les Franco- et Anglo-catholiques. Limitant notre étude à la période de 1867 à 1949, nous faisons usage d’histoire politique, plus précisément celle qui s’intéresse aux systèmes de partis canadiens et au Parti libéral en particulier. Nous complétons en utilisant une approche qui établit un lien entre l’identité et le comportement politique. Nous expliquons donc les comportements politiques des Franco- et Anglo-catholiques à la lumière de leur contexte sociopolitique, accordant une importance particulière au développement de clivages ethnolinguistiques et religieux, et à la vision de l’identité canadienne proposée par les partis politiques. Nous concluons que ce comportement des catholiques était avant tout déterminé par des facteurs d’ordre ethnique. Plusieurs ont surestimé l’importance de l’identité religieuse, entre 1867 et 1949. Cette conclusion a d’intéressantes retombées sur l’étude des comportements électoraux au Canada, puisqu’elle vient remettre en question l’étude du comportement des catholiques, groupe plus hétérogène qu’il ne l’avait été suggéré par les études précédentes.

Self-published web diaries called blogs are one manifestation of the Internet’s potential to create new discursive and dialogic spaces for citizens. Blogs are described by their authors and others in the news media (as well as some academic commentators) as a medium that potentially fosters political dialogue in the spirit of Habermas’ conceptual “public sphere.” Blogs also serve as potential competitors to mass media outlets in political debates in two distinct ways: first, by acting as agenda-setters and framers of issues, events and figures and second, by challenging journalistic norms such as the principles of fairness, neutrality and non-partisanship. In spite of these claims, however, very little empirical evidence exists to date on whether political blogs perform the roles of agenda-setters, gatekeepers or framers, or whether they are actually seen as a challenge or potential replacement to mass media outlets by themselves, by journalists or by those who could utilize blogs to transmit messages to the public. This thesis examines these questions as they pertain to Canadian politics, focusing on the interaction between journalists, partisan bloggers and political communications practitioners to assess whether blogs written by explicitly partisan authors actually: 1) create unique discursive spaces for discussion of Canadian political issues, 2) set agendas for political discussion and set issues and 3) serve as an occupational threat/potential replacement to media outlets for disseminating political information. Using surveys and content analysis, this thesis contends that partisan blogs largely mimic political discussion already occurring in media-produced content and are perceived as a potential, though not completely credible, replacement for shaping political agendas and disseminating information.

Self-published web diaries called blogs are one manifestation of the Internet’s potential to create new discursive and dialogic spaces for citizens. Blogs are described by their authors and others in the news media (as well as some academic commentators) as a medium that potentially fosters political dialogue in the spirit of Habermas’ conceptual “public sphere.” Blogs also serve as potential competitors to mass media outlets in political debates in two distinct ways: first, by acting as agenda-setters and framers of issues, events and figures and second, by challenging journalistic norms such as the principles of fairness, neutrality and non-partisanship. In spite of these claims, however, very little empirical evidence exists to date on whether political blogs perform the roles of agenda-setters, gatekeepers or framers, or whether they are actually seen as a challenge or potential replacement to mass media outlets by themselves, by journalists or by those who could utilize blogs to transmit messages to the public. This thesis examines these questions as they pertain to Canadian politics, focusing on the interaction between journalists, partisan bloggers and political communications practitioners to assess whether blogs written by explicitly partisan authors actually: 1) create unique discursive spaces for discussion of Canadian political issues, 2) set agendas for political discussion and set issues and 3) serve as an occupational threat/potential replacement to media outlets for disseminating political information. Using surveys and content analysis, this thesis contends that partisan blogs largely mimic political discussion already occurring in media-produced content and are perceived as a potential, though not completely credible, replacement for shaping political agendas and disseminating information.

There is a breadth of research on micro-targeting in American elections, while the practice is under-researched in Canadian federal elections. Additionally, there is no academic commentary on micro-targeting at the Canadian provincial election level. This thesis draws on this gap in literature to investigate how micro-targeting is used at the provincial campaign level by parties and candidates. My research was conducted through an analysis of emails, Facebook ads and Facebook posts by the Liberal, Progressive Conservative and New Democratic Party candidates in 8 ridings in the 2018 Ontario election. I drew hypotheses about the types of “micro” appeals in provincial micro-targeting from the work of Kreiss (2017), Giasson and Small (2017), Marland and Matthews (2017), Munroe and Munroe (2018), Delacourt (2015) and Carty, Cross and Young (2000). From this research, I argue that provincial micro-targeting is nowhere near the level of specificity that is found in Canadian federal elections, let alone American elections. Parties rely on appeals to very broad groups and areas, such as occupations and “the North.” Parties do not use the information contained in voter management databases to target campaign appeals on social media or other media, and instead rely on these systems more for get-out-the-vote activities. This thesis contributes to the growing research on micro-targeting and the use of Facebook for political campaigning, while also remaining conscious to the fact that these technologies are constantly changing and advancing. / Graduate

The trans and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) community has a complex relationship with psychiatry. The need for access to transition-related medical services is complicated by an increasing amount of activism that refuses the pathologization of TGNC identities through the diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria and the rejection of the biomedical model of mental illness more broadly. TGNC activists have mobilized concepts from critical disability studies and Mad studies, namely the biomedical and social models of mental illness, to describe their aversion to, and proposals against pathologization. However, this binary relationship between the biomedical and social models is problematic, as it is increasingly evident that conceptualizing TGNC mental health within this binary does not account for the complex reality of the lives of trans and gender-nonconforming people who must navigate between fighting pathologization without sacrificing access to publicly funded transition-related medical procedures, counselling services, and disability benefits. Consequently, in this thesis, I seek to trouble the binary relationship between the biomedical and the social, pointing to the shortcomings of mainstream disability discourses within TGNC mental health policies and practices in Ontario, using Foucault’s notion of biopower and Pamela Moss’ perching model to trace both the consequences of, and alternatives to, these limiting conceptualizations.

Tout comme le mouvement féministe à la fin des années 1960, le mouvement LGBTQ+ est devenu un acteur politique important au Canada qui, depuis les années 1970, a interpellé directement les partis politiques, les élu/es et les gouvernements, les forçant ainsi à répondre et à prendre position sur une pléthore d'enjeux concernant la diversité sexuelle et la pluralité des genres. Cette thèse de doctorat s'intéresse aux mécanismes d'interactions qui régit la relation mouvement LGBTQ+ et partis politiques au Canada depuis 1960 jusqu'à 2019. Elle axe l'analyse de la relation mouvement-partis au Canada sur deux dimensions distinctes. La première dimension se consacre à la mobilisation du mouvement LGBTQ+ dans l'arène partisane (en portant une attention particulière à ses variations dans le temps). La seconde se consacre à la réponse des partis politiques face à cette mobilisation et les facteurs qui structurent ces réponses. La thèse démontre, dans un premier temps, qu'au Canada le mouvement LGBTQ+ a adopté une stratégie multipartisane pour se mobiliser dans l'arène partisane et ce, tout au long de son histoire. La mobilisation du mouvement LGBTQ+ auprès des partis politiques a été influencé par l'ouverture de fenêtres d'opportunités politiques surtout influencé par la présence d'acteur/ices clés au sein des partis, l'instabilité électorale de certaines décennies ainsi que la position sur l'échiquier politique des partis qui se sont déplacés dans le temps et dans l'espace. La thèse avance en particulier que la présence de personnel politique out a été un facteur crucial pour mobiliser le mouvement auprès de la scène partisane ainsi que la présence de député/es out. Dans un deuxième temps, la thèse démontre des variations importantes quant à la réponse des partis politiques face aux revendications portées par le mouvement LGBTQ+. La thèse soutient que les partis de masse et idéologiquement plus à gauche ont répondu plus tôt aux demandes du mouvement, alors que les partis de cadre ont eu tendance à générer des réponses influencées par l'opinion public ou la perception de l'électeur médian. Les partis qui ont mis sur pied des structures internes de représentation formelle et informelle LGBTQ+ ont également changer certaines positions structurantes par la suite, c'est le cas du Parti conservateur et de sa posture sur le mariage entre conjoint/es de même sexe ainsi que du Nouveau Parti Démocratique et de ses engagements électoraux par le biais des plateformes électorales.

This Master of Arts thesis examines how political marketing, and the Doer/Dexter model specifically, helped the NDP in Manitoba and Nova Scotia win elections from 1999 through 2007 in Manitoba and in 2009 in Nova Scotia. The study uses content analysis on the election platforms of the period and elite interviews with key political strategists of the NDP in order to gain insight and draw conclusions on what political marketing elements were critical to the party’s electoral success. This study concludes that the NDP in Manitoba and Nova Scotia used market research and a similar comprehensive political marketing strategy, now known as the Doer/Dexter model, which focused on the simplification of communication, the moderation of policy and the inoculation of any perceived weakness in order to win power. / May 2016

When it comes to the politics of victimhood, existing academic accounts contend that conservative politics and ideology have largely been defined by a backlash against discourses of victimization. In this respect, North American conservatism is seen as embodying an anti-victimist approach – one where progressive claims of victimhood are represented as the result of an impaired character rather than as the result of systemic cultural and legal discrimination. However, while this literature accurately captures many characteristics of conservative ideology, it risks overlooking the ways that conservative proactively engage with the politics of victimhood and victim arguments. This dissertation offers an examination of the discursive significance of the “victim” in contemporary conservative politics and ideology through an analysis of three realms of conservative politics in Canada: (1) the men’s rights movement, (2) the anti-abortion movement, and (3) the Conservative Party of Canada. Drawing on the results of a large-scale critical discourse analysis and the participant observation of over a dozen conservative events in Canada, this dissertation contends that the debate over the politics of victimhood is not a battle between anti-victim conservative and pro-victim progressives. Rather, contemporary Canadian conservatives are increasingly makers of victim politics – rather than its critics – challenging many academic assumptions made about both conservative ideology and discourse in Canada, as well as the larger politics of victimhood in North America.

Literature, particularly institutional approaches, emphasizes that parliamentary systems like Canada have avoided controversial morality policy issues including - and perhaps especially - abortion. This, however, fails to account for historical and contemporary developments in Canadian abortion policy and politics at the federal level. More specifically, it fails to adequately conceptualize how governments engage with abortion in practice, such as with the introduction of the omnibus bills in the 1960s and C-43 in 1989, as well as the increasing use of abortion as a political weapon in election campaigns and party politics. Using framing theory and the concepts of politicisation and depoliticisation, this dissertation fills this gap by unpacking how Canada’s federal governments have managed abortion policy and politics from 1966 to 2019, both in discourse and in concrete actions in parliament. More precisely, the federal government's evolving discourses (stories) and actions on the abortion issue were examined through sources that span the 1960s up to 2019, including parliamentary transcripts (Hansard), parliamentary committee transcripts (Evidence) and reports, cabinet documents, and interviews. This dissertation presents an original typology to facilitate a more dynamic understanding of (de)politicisation. It categorizes politicising and depoliticising movements according to how actors use the dimensions of time, space, and capacity to delay, defer and establish limits to their agency in depoliticising procedural action or discourse, or to emphasize an issue on the agenda, claim jurisdiction or responsibility, and establish authority and capability in politicising procedural action or discourse. This yields a more dynamic understanding of how governments have managed the abortion issue over time, demonstrating how governments and their representatives have used - often simultaneously - both politicising and depoliticising actions and discourses. This management, which may be intended to dampen controversy, can also result in uneasy and even contradictory discourses and actions that may generate new sources of conflict. Capturing this dynamism affirms that governments do not simply "avoid" or "engage" with abortion, but that their positions are unsteady and often contradictory, moving back-and-forth - often simultaneously - in their efforts to manage the issue. Using this typology, this dissertation maps out the evolving discourses and approaches through which the federal government approached abortion over time. It argues that, through the 1960s to 1980s, the government approached abortion as a policy problem that required a legislative solution. Beginning in the 1990s and becoming more prominent in the 2000 election and thereafter, the government began using abortion as a political weapon, which served to demarcate Liberal Party values against conservative parties, and vice versa. This dissertation contributes by expanding (de)politicisation theory through its typology, creating a means to analyse the complex and interactive relationship between (de)politicisation, as well as contributing a Canadian case study to the primarily British and Eurocentric depoliticisation literature. This dissertation also bridges the gap between morality policy literature and (de)politicisation, which may be fruitful for additional study into how political actors manage morality policy issues. Empirically, this dissertation offers a comprehensive history of Canada's federal policy and politics of abortion over the past half century, documenting the significant shifts in the discourses and approaches of federal governments on this contentious issue.