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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2009
In recent years a significant beginning has been made in the investigation into the processes of recruitment of authorities within the Canadian political system. The focus of these studies has been on elective offices at the federal and provincial levels and on party activists. Only limited research has been devoted to the processes by which local decision-makers are recruited. Other than the partial analysis of local leadership selection by Harold Kaplan in his study of Toronto politics and the cursory treatment of this subject by J.G. Joyce and H.A. Hosse in their general survey of city councillors throughout Canada, empirical data about the recruitment of Canadian local decision-makers is confined to the level of social back ground analysis. The remainder of our information about local leadership selection tends to be in the form of hypotheses derived from data generated by the more extensive research on the recruitment of city councilmen in American cities. Although these propositions are useful because of certain shared structural characteristics between Canadian urban political systems and their American counterparts, they remain largely untested in the Canadian urban context and we run the risk of ignoring possible differences in the recruitment processes caused by factors endemic to each system.
1 See Kornberg, Allan and Winsborough, Hal S., “The Recruitment of Candidates for the Canadian House of Commons,” American Political Science Review, LXII (1968), 1242–57Google Scholar; Smith, D.E., “The Recruitment, Role Perceptions and Political Attitudes of Saskatchewan mlas,” paper presented at the Annual cpsa Conference, Winnipeg, 1970Google Scholar; Williams, Robert J., “Recruitment to the Ontario Legislature,” paper presented to the Annual cpsa Conference, St Johns, 1971Google Scholar; Jacek, Henry, et al., “The Congruence of Federal-Provincial Campaign Activity in Party Organization: The Influence of Recruitment Patterns in Three Hamilton Ridings,” this Journal, V (June, 1972), 190–205Google Scholar; Young, W.D., “A Profile of Activists in The British Columbia ndp,” Journal of Canadian Studies, VI (1971) 19–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Hoffman, David and Ward, Norman, Bilingualism and Biculturalism in the Canadian House of Commons (Ottawa, 1970).Google Scholar For studies concerned directly with political socialization see, Kornberg, Allan and Thomas, Norman, “The Political Socialization of National Legislative Elites in the United States and Canada,” Journal of Politics, XXVII (1965), 761–75CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Kornberg, Allan, Smith, Joel, and Bromley, David, “Some Differences in Political Socialization Patterns of Canadian and American Party Officials: A Preliminary Report,” this Journal, II (March, 1969), 64–88.Google Scholar
2 See Kaplan, , Urban Political Systems: A Functional Analysis of Metro Toronto, (New York, 1967)Google Scholar and Joyce, and Hosse, , Civic Parties in Canada (Montreal, 1970).Google Scholar Although Guy Bourassa in his study of Montreal civic elites is directly concerned with the recruitment of local decision-makers, he does not go beyond a social background analysis. See Bourassa, Guy, “Les élites politiques de Montréal: de l'aristocratie la démocratic,” Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, XXXI (1965), 35–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar See also Easton, Robert and Tennant, Paul, “Vancouver Civic Party Leadership, Backgrounds, Attitudes and Non-Civic Party Affiliations,” B.C. Studies (Summer, 1969), 19–29Google Scholar; Kay, Barry J., “Voting Patterns in a Non-Partisan Legislature: A Study of Toronto City Council,” this Journal, IV (June, 1971), 224–42Google Scholar; Clarkson, Stephen, “Barrier to Entry of Parties in Toronto's Civic Politics: Towards a Theory of Party Penetration,” this Journal, IV (June, 1971), 206–23Google Scholar; and Alan Alexander, “The Institutional and Role Perceptions of Local Aldermen,” The Lakehead University Review, V, 38—54.
3 A useful survey of the American influence on the development of non-partisan politics in Canadian cities can be found in Anderson, J.D., “Nonpartisan Urban Politics in Canadian Cities,” Emerging Party Politics in Urban Canada, eds. Masson, J.K. and Anderson, J.D. (Toronto, 1972), 5–21.Google Scholar See also, Lightbody, James, “The Rise of Party Politics in Canadian Local Elections,” Journal of Canadian Studies, VI (February, 1971), 39–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4 A methodological note should be made. The data used in this report are based for the most part on recall, and therefore are subject to the difficulties inherent in this type of information retrieval technique; some incompleteness or even incorrectness may exist. We have no reason, however, for believing that the respondents deliberately chose to alter or conceal aspects of their personal political histories.
5 Non-partisanship in the Canadian municipal context has been characterized by the customary absence of activity by any of the national or provincial political parties in civic elections. Embryonic attempts at involving local units of the established political parties in civic elections in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver have recently occurred, but the future role of this type of party activity remains questionable. See, among others, Joyce and Hosse, Civic Parties; Clarkson, “Barrier to Entry”; E.P.
Fowler, and Goldrick, M.D., “The Toronto Election, 1969, Patterns of Partisan and Non-partisan Balloting,” paper presented at the Annual cpsa conference, Winnipeg, 1970Google Scholar; and Lightbody, “Rise of Party Politics.”
6 Harold Kaplan has developed a rudimentary classification of urban electoral politics into three ideal types: partisan, factional, and non-factional. Civic politics are “factional” when civic election groups, exhibiting differing degrees of organization and continuity, are active in civic election campaigns. Non-factional urban politics exist when activity is confined to para-political community service and business organizations and individual campaigns. Civic politics are partisan when organized political parties are instrumental in electing city aldermen. See Kaplan, Urban Political Systems, 181–3.
7 1971 population statistics (rounded) for the five cities are: Edmonton, 438,000; Calgary, 403,000; Lethbridge, 41,000; Medicine Hat, 27,000; and Red Deer, 28,000. Statistics Canada, Advance Bulletin, no. 92–757 (ap-6), 1971.
8 See among others, Bowman, Lewis and Boynton, G.R., “Recruitment Patterns among Local Party Officials: A. Model and Some Preliminary Finds in Selected Locales,” American Political Science Review, LX (September, 1966), 667–76CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Schwartz, David C., “Toward a Theory- of Political Recruitment,” Western Political Quarterly, XXII (September, 1969), 552–71Google Scholar; Jacob, Herbert, “Initial Recruitment of Elected Officials in the u.s. – A Model,” Journal of Politics, XXVI (November, 1962), 703–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Seligman, Lester G., Recruitment of Political Elites (New York, 1971)Google Scholar; and Prewitt, Kenneth, The Recruitment of Political Leaders: A Study in Citizen Politicians (New York, 1970).Google Scholar
9 This two-phase approach follows in part Lester Seligman's general model of the recruitment process. Seligman also incorporates a role assignment and a decision-making phase into his integrated model of the recruitment process. At present, however, we will present data relating only to the first two phases. Seligman, Recruitment of Political Elites, 3ff.
10 The information on the relationship between recruitment mechanisms and the municipal electorate, as well as between voters and aldermanic candidates, is drawn from our interview schedules and therefore represents a one-directional perspective. Badly needed is an integrated approach which draws data from municipal voter surveys and recruitment group personnel as well.
11 Prewitt, Recruitment, 23–51. See also Alexander, , “Institutional and Role Perceptions,” and “The Metro Politician – A Profile,” Civic Affairs Bulletin (Toronto, June, 1963), 40–1Google Scholar, which is a limited study of the background characteristics of Toronto aldermen; Rossi, P., “Theory, Research and Practice in Community Organization,” in Science and Community Action, ed. Adrian, Charles R. (East Lansing, 1960)Google Scholar; Agger, Robert R., Goldrick, Daniel, and Swanson, Bert E., The Rulers and the Ruled (New York, 1964)Google Scholar; and Banfield, E.C. and Wilson, J.Q., City Politics (Cambridge, 1963).Google Scholar
12 A person's status in the structure of political opportunity is in part related to the political skills he possesses. Bowman and Boynton argue that education provides the ability to conceptualize political issues and to verbalize these conceptions. Educational achievement is also commonly linked with development of political efficacy (the belief that one can influence political affairs – sometimes referred to as political competency). See Bowman and Boynton, “Recruitment Patterns,” 17.
13 Examples of brokerage occupations include: newspapermen, independent merchants, lawyers, real estate brokers, and local union officials. For a definition and extensive listing of brokerage occupation see “Initial Recruitment,” 709–11.
14 “Recruitment to the Ontario Legislature,” 11.
15 See among others, Joyce and Hosse, Civic Parties in Canada, 27.
16 Jack Anderson advances the argument that a city council seat holds greater promise of electoral success for a member of a party which is not popular in a particular section of the country, because partisan labels are removed in civic elections. This “thwarted ambition” theory is partly supported by our evidence. Of the aldermen we interviewed, the party membership breakdown is as follows: Social Credit, 16 per cent; Liberal, 22 per cent; Conservative, 29 per cent; ndp, 11 per cent; and Independent, 20 per cent. See Anderson, “Origins of Nonpartisan Urban Politics,” 7.
17 For studies dealing with the relationship between organizational membership and political activity, see Nie, Norman, Powell, G. Bingham, and Prewitt, Kenneth, “Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships,” parts I and II, American Political Science Review, LXIII (1969), 361–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and 808–32; and Alford, Robert and Scoble, Harry, “Sources of Local Political Involvement,” American Political Science Review, LXII (1968), 1192–1206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18 Smith, “Recruitment,” 6–7; Williams, “Recruitment to the Ontario Legislature,” 15–16; Hoffman and Ward, Bilingualism, 57–98; and Kornberg and Thomas, “Political Socialization”; see also Prewitt, Kenneth, Eulau, Heinz, and Zisk, Betty H., “Political Socialization and Political Roles,” Public Opinion Quarterly, XXX (Winter, 1966–7), 569–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19 Political Participation, (Chicago, 1965), 20–1.
20 “Recruitment,” 86.
21 These most prominent groups were the Civic Government Association in Lethbridge, the United Citizen's Association in Calgary, and the United Civic Action Party and the Better Civic Election Committee in Edmonton.
22 In a sample of the Edmonton electorate, Masson and Gilsdorf found that nearly three-quarters of the respondents approved of the way their city affairs were handled. See Masson, Lack and Gilsdorf, Robert, “Studies of the Urban Environment: A Political Science Perspective,” in Urbanization and Urban Life in A Iberia, ed. Mclntosh, R.G. and Housego, I.E. (Edmonton, 1970), 39.Google Scholar
23 Fowler and Goldrick, “Toronto Election,” 8–10.
24 Consequently, the fact that an alderman might be an active political party supporter at other levels of government does not necessarily mean his partisan affiliations will affect his role on council. One cannot automatically assume that a councillor active in the Liberal party for example is going to vote as a “Liberal” on city council.
