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Solidarity Forever? The NDP, Organized Labour, and the Changing Face of Party Finance in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2009

Harold J. Jansen  and
Lisa Young
Harold J. Jansen*
Affiliation:
University of Lethbridge
Lisa Young*
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
*
Harold J. Jansen, Department of Political Science, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, harold.jansen@uleth.ca.
Lisa Young, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary, Social Sciences Building Room 756, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, lisa.young@ucalgary.ca.
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Abstract

Abstract. We consider the impact of changing Canadian national party finance laws that banned trade union donations on the relationship between the New Democratic party (NDP) and organized labour. Although the changed laws have required a restructuring of the relationship between the two actors, we find evidence of a continued commitment to co-operation. We conclude that accounts that stress the ideological affinity between the NDP and labour explain the preservation of the relationship better than political economy or rational exchange models.

Résumé. Nous considérons les changements apportés aux lois canadiennes sur le financement des partis politiques, lois qui ont banni les donations des syndicats, dans la perspective de leur incidence sur la relation entre le Nouveau Parti démocratique (NPD) et les syndicats. Malgré le fait que les nouvelles lois ont nécessité une restructuration de la relation entre les deux acteurs, nous avons découvert la présence d'un engagement continu envers la coopération. Nous concluons que les interprétations qui mettent l'accent sur l'affinité idéologique entre le NPD et les syndicats expliquent mieux le maintien de cette relation que l'économie politique ou les modèles d'échange rationnel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 657 - 678
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

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