Alberta’s forgotten experiment with electoral reform: the hybrid single transferable vote/alternative vote and the quasi-party system

A persistent yet understudied aspect of Alberta’s “quasi-party system” is the role of the electoral system. While many authors have rightly pointed out that a majoritarian single-member plurality system has helped Alberta’s ruling parties produce disproportionate majorities, the province has not always operated under this electoral arrangement. From 1926 until 1955, Alberta had a “hybrid” system, consisting of the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies in Edmonton and Calgary and the Alternative Vote in single-member constituencies in the rest of Alberta. This unusual attempt at electoral reform played an important role in the dominance of the United Farmers of Alberta and the early Social Credit Party (until 1955). AV acted as an essentially majoritarian system in rural Alberta, producing statistically indistinguishable results from FPTP. This contrasts the Albertan case with other attempts at implementing the Alternative Vote. On the other hand, STV benefited the UFA and Social Credit in two distinct ways. STV increasing proportionality in Edmonton and Calgary, as it has in many other jurisdictions. However, due the hybrid system, the urban opposition in Edmonton and Calgary to the UFA was fragmented by a proportional system like STV. Social Credit, with its larger urban base, used STV to maximize its urban vote through a process of voter transfers. Finally, rural malapportionment is a key feature in both the hybrid system and the subsequent return to single-member plurality. Rural seats, operating under both AV and FPTP, have been the electoral bedrock for Alberta’s long lived political dynasties. The unique case of Alberta’s hybrid electoral system serves as an important potential case study in debates surrounding electoral reform in Canada and around the world. Please be aware that a revision to this article was submitted on April 30, 2021. Therefore, there may be some differences between the online version of this submission and the print version.

Sex Work and the City

Bill C-36, or the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which was introduced in Canada in 2014, made the purchase of sexual services illegal. To the end of eliminating sex work, Bill C-36 rests on the premise that sex work is inherently exploitative, and that sex workers and their communities are harmed by the exchange of sexual services. Considering that Indigenous women are overrepresented among sex workers and disproportionately victims of severe violence, this paper examines the goals of Bill C-36 in conversation with Canada’s ongoing project of colonialism. This paper demonstrates that Bill C-36 upholds the systemic devaluation of Indigeneity by which Indigenous women’s bodies are rendered deserving of violence, and by which this violence is normalized and invisibilized. Rather than protect ‘victims’ of sexual exploitation, Bill C-36 relies on the colonial stereotypes of the Indigenous prostitute to reimagine sexually autonomous Indigenous women as inherent threats to (white) Canadian society and themselves, and thereby justify state regulation in both public and private spaces.

On Guard: The Discourse of Difference in Trudeau’s Speech on National Unity

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s July 1, 2017 speech to commemorate 150 years of Canadian Confederation and its seemingly banal content and delivery ironically beckons for critical attention. Delivered to the Prince of Wales on Parliament Hill and millions via television and Internet, the address capped off the immense cultural spectacle of Canada’s sesquicentennial with tributes to Canadian exceptionalism in battle and in sport. However, behind references to reconciliation and tolerance is a well-documented history of contestation that runs contrary to the international myth of Canadian unity. This essay deconstructs a consonance of perspectives on Indigenous relations, multiculturalism, and citizenship proposed by Prime Minister Trudeau in his Canada 150 address on Parliament Hill that is inconsistent with a defining decade of Canadian resistance. I analyze the speech’s attempts to whitewash Canada’s colonial origins and dispel numerous claims of peaceful coexistence between the nation-state and various minorities, fundamentally challenging perceptions of Canadian identity and national values.

U.S. Senatorial Race for Maine

Over the course of 23 years, United States Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has been able to successfully walk a unique line of nonpartisanship, never stepping too far to the right, or to the left. However, following her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court in 2017, and her vote to acquit President Trump of his impeachment charges in early 2020, Susan Collins placed herself in an incredibly precarious situation. Pundits and analysts were convinced that this election would turn into a referendum on Susan Collins (Lyall 2020). Meanwhile, her opponent, the current Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, Sara Gideon, consistently led in the polls and worked off of the momentum gained from the success of the U.S. House Democrats in the 2018 midterms. And yet, Susan Collins stunned the nation by defeating Gideon. This paper evaluates and analyses what possible causes led to this outcome. Ultimately, Collins’ choice to vote against the confirmation of late-Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement on the Supreme Court convinced Mainers that Susan Collins could still be trusted, and should be given another chance.

Alberta COVID-19 Response: Critical Considerations for Health Care Worker Single-Site Exclusion Policies and Wage Supplements

On April 20, 2020, Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro issued a single-site exclusion order and wage supplement for health care aid workers at long term care centres in an effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 between and within high-risk populations. Adequate staffing and diligent infection prevention measures in long term care centres are necessary to maintaining a medically secure environment and alleviating the pressures that are being faced by acute and intensive care units in-hospital, which have reached capacity as of December 2020. This paper argues that the April 20th order was an insufficient and inefficiently executed iteration of a policy intended to protect both the lives of residents and livelihoods of employees in long-term care throughout the pandemic. I propose instead that centralized regulation of all health care aid and nursing support staff would have better addressed the financial and health concerns that this policy aimed to target. I will also point out systemic issues in Canadian long-term care provision that have been aggravated by COVID-19, as well as reiterate the need for general infection prevention measures outside of the long-term care setting.

Analyzing the Civil Rights Movement: The Significance of Nonviolent Protest, International Influences, the Media, and Pre-existing Organizations

This essay is an analysis of the success of the mid-20th century civil rights movement in the United States. The civil rights movement was a seminal event in American history and resulted in several legislative victories, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. After a brief overview of segregation and Jim Crow laws in the southern U.S., I will argue that the success of the civil rights movement can be attributed to a combination of factors. One of these factors was the effective strategy of nonviolent protests, in which the American public witnessed the contrasting actions of peaceful protestors and violent local authorities. In addition, political opportunities also played a role in the movement’s success, as during the Cold War the U.S. federal government became increasingly concerned about their international image. Other reasons for the movement’s success include an increased access to television among the American public, and pre-existing black institutions and organizations. The civil rights movement left an important legacy and ensuing social movements have utilized similar framing techniques and strategies.

Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act and Indigenous Self-Determination in Canada

This research paper analyzes the impacts of Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution on the enhancement of Indigenous rights in Canadian politics. As outlined in Section 35, Indigenous rights are recognized as pre-existing prior to the Constitution Act of 1982 and the identity of Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis peoples are defined. Academic literature, television broadcasts, and personal accounts of the implementation and effects of Section 35 were used to conduct this research and investigate the origins of this section in the Constitution. Notably, this analysis demonstrated that the inclusion of Section 35 in the Constitution has led to more public discussion and court cases to claim treaty rights by Indigenous peoples. The effect of including Indigenous rights in the Canadian Constitution has expanded the role of the courts in adjudicating relations between the Canadian government and Indigenous people, effectively expanding the accountability of the Canadian government to upholding treaty rights. Overall, the findings of this paper were that Section 35 plays a large role in promoting awareness of reconciliation to the Canadian public, however, it stops short of including Indigenous people as meaningful participants in their own self-determination.

Virtue and Virtu: A Debate in the Importance of Values and Justice for Leaders of State

In this paper, I will be providing an analysis and critical commentary regarding the concepts of virtue and virtu. Their varying yet similar definitions and histories will be examined, under the lens of two historically acclaimed texts; Plato’s The Republic and Nicolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. The similarities, differences, and overarching messages of the two authors’ definitions will be provided, along with a conclusion on which moral element creates a stark contrast between them.

Examining the CPEC through the Lens of South-South Cooperation

Worth over $62 billion USD, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the largest infrastructure partnerships between two developing states in the world and is lauded by China and Pakistan as a model of development cooperation. By viewing the program from the perspective of a South-South Cooperation (SSC) framework, this paper analyzes the extent to which the CPEC operationalizes the principles of the SSC paradigm. In examining the CPEC’s relation with the standards of mutual benefit, equality, non-interference, and non-conditionality, China and Pakistan’s claims that the program is a blueprint for South to South development cooperation is tested by this research.

"Regulate the Regulator"

As the 2008 Financial Crisis caused global markets to contract, and people across the United States and the world suffered the costs, there has been a growing and significant body of literature investigating the relative culpability of different financial actors and institutions in perpetrating the 2008 crisis. “Regulate the Regulator” highlights the culpability of credit rating agencies (CRA) for the reason that their industry acted as a de-facto financial regulator in themselves, wielding a unique amount and type of power as the “gatekeepers” or “security guards” of capital markets. This article explores the role of CRAs in precipitating the events of the 2008 crisis by examining factors like inherent conflicts of interest, an opaque rating process that lacked substantive oversight, and the enforcement of a profit-oriented workplace culture. Taking its analysis a step, "Regulate the Regulator" then contextualizes the behaviour of CRAs within the post-1980s American financialization movement.