Alberta’s Transition to a Two-Party System: The 2015 and 2019 Elections

AbstractAlberta has historically been a one-party dominant system by electing a series of party dynasties from 1905 to 2015. However, Alberta started a transition to a two-party system when the NDP formed government following the 2015 election. This process was solidified with the 2019 election that saw the UCP and NDP as the only parties that won seats and received over 87% combined in the popular vote. The UCP (a consequence of a merger between the PCs and Wildrose Party) won a landslide election in 2019, but, unlike in previous Alberta elections, the former governing party did not disappear. The NDP won all but one seat in Edmonton, won seats in Calgary and Lethbridge, and re-elected Premier Rachel Notley and ten former Cabinet Ministers. Since the 2019 election, measures such as voter turnout, polling, fundraising, and the resilience of the UCP indicate the continuation of the two-party system. RésuméL'Alberta a toujours été un système à parti unique dominant en élisant une série de dynasties de partis de 1905 à 2015. Cependant, l'Alberta a entamé une transition vers un système à deux partis lorsque le NPD a formé le gouvernement après les élections de 2015. Ce processus s'est solidifié avec les élections de 2019 qui ont vu l'UCP et le NPD comme les seuls partis à avoir remporté des sièges et obtenu plus de 87 % combinés lors du vote populaire. L'UCP (conséquence d'une fusion entre les PC et le Wildrose Party) a remporté une élection écrasante en 2019, mais, contrairement aux précédentes élections albertaines, l'ancien parti au pouvoir n'a pas disparu. Le NPD a remporté tous les sièges sauf un à Edmonton, a remporté des sièges à Calgary et à Lethbridge et a réélu la première ministre Rachel Notley et dix anciens ministres du Cabinet. Depuis les élections de 2019, des mesures telles que la participation électorale, les sondages, la collecte de fonds et la résilience de l'UCP indiquent la poursuite du système bipartite.Key Words: Two-party system, One-party dominant system, 2015 Alberta Election, 2019 Alberta electionMots-clés; Système bipartite, Système dominant à parti unique, Élection albertaine 2015, Élection albertaine 201

Canada\u27s nuclear reactor export policy: Commercial interests versus political/security concerns.

Chapter One provides an introduction to the problem and a review of all of the significant literature on the subject. Chapter Two examines the various economic factors that have made the sale of reactors an important Canadian foreign policy goal. Chapter Three sets out the political/security concerns associated with reactor exports, concentrating on the theme of the prevention of nuclear proliferation. Chapter Four looks at the period 1945-74 and shows that at the beginning of this era commercial interests clearly dominated over security concerns, but by the end an equilibrium had been reached between the two forces. Chapter Five examines the period 1974-76 when a shift in the balance between the two competing objectives took place, resulting in political/security concerns dominating over commercial interests. Chapter Six assesses the final period, 1977-92, when, despite the dire economic necessity of concluding reactor sales, the Canadian government still allowed political/security concerns to dominate over commercial interests. Chapter Seven gives a brief conclusion. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1992 .B733. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 31-04, page: 1576. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1992

Letting the People Speak: the public consultation process for nuclear power in Alberta and Saskatchewan

This paper compares the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments’ public consultation process for the introduction of nuclear power in their provinces. While the goal was the same – to gauge public reaction on a continuous policy issue – the design of their respective consultation process was quite different. The paper analyzes the techniques of public consultation in the nuclear sector, especially the use of public hearings and multiple consultative tools. Finally, it assesses the impact that public consultation has on government decision-making

Mapping the nexus of transitional justice and peacebuilding

This paper explores the convergences and divergence between transitional justice and peace-building, by considering some of the recent developments in scholarship and practice. We examine the notion of ‘peace’ in transitional justice and the idea of ‘justice’ in peacebuilding. We highlight that transitional justice and peacebuilding often engage with similar or related ideas, though the scholarship on in each field has developed, largely, in parallel to each other, and of-ten without any significant engagement between the fields of inquiry. We also note that both fields share other commonalities, insofar as they often neglect questions of capital (political, social, economic) and at times, gender. We suggest that trying to locate the nexus in the first place draws attention to where peace and justice have actually got to be produced in order for there not to be conflict and violence. This in turn demonstrates that locally, ‘peace’ and ‘justice’ do not always look like the ‘peace’ and ‘justice’ drawn up by international donors and peace-builders; and, despite the ‘turn to the local’ in international relations, it is surprising just how many local and everyday dynamics are (dis)missed as sources of peace and justice, or potential avenues of addressing the past