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The Effects of Elections Canada's Campaign Period Advertising

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2014

R. Michael McGregor  and
Cameron D. Anderson
R. Michael McGregor*
Affiliation:
Bishop's University
Cameron D. Anderson*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
*
Bishop's University, 2600 Rue College, Sherbrooke, Qc, J1M 0C8, Email: michael.mcgregor@ubishops.ca.
The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St. London, ON, N6A 3K7, Email: cander54@uwo.ca
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Abstract

Voter participation is widely viewed as invaluable by democratic theorists, and a large majority of members of the Canadian public believe that low turnout weakens Canadian democracy. In response to decreasing rates of turnout in federal elections, Elections Canada has run advertising campaigns during the last several election campaigns encouraging Canadians to participate by voting. Using Election Canadian Study data from 2006 and 2008, this note examines the effect of Elections Canada's advertisements upon turnout and the partisan outcome of elections. Results reveal that the ad campaigns have effects upon both factors. The ads increase turnout among segments of the population with traditionally low turnout rates and are associated with an overall decrease in the Conservative party's vote share.

Résumé

La participation des électeurs est considérée essentielle par les théoriciens de la démocratie et une grande majorité des Canadiens considèrent qu'un faible taux de participation affaiblie la démocratie canadienne. En réaction aux taux décroissants de participation des dernières élections fédérales, Élections Canada a mis en place des campagnes publicitaires afin d'encourager les Canadiens à voter. En utilisant les données des Études électorales canadiennes de 2006 et 2008, cette note examine l'effet de ces publicités sur le taux de participation et sur les résultats partisans des élections. Nos recherches démontrent que les campagnes publicitaires ont des effets sur les deux variables. Les publicités augmentent le taux de participation d'une partie de la population qui traditionnellement participe peu aux élections, et elles sont associées à une diminution générale de la part des voix gagnées par le parti Conservateur.

Type
Research Note
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 813 - 826
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2014 

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