Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level

Views from Canada

Edited by Sandra Breux and Jérôme Couture

Political Science & International Studies: Political Science: Canada, Urban Studies

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Overview
Author Bio
Table of Contents
Series

Are municipal governments democratic simply because they are elected?

In Canada, the quality of municipal democracy has been questioned due to three crucial factors. First, voter turnout tends to be significantly lower for municipal elections than it is for other levels of government. Second, the re-election rate of incumbent candidates is higher compared to provincial, territorial, and federal elections. Third, corruption and other scandals have tarnished the image of local democracy. Are cities sufficiently capable of responding to crises and representing the interests of their residents?

Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level addresses these issues through qualitative and quantitative analysis, focusing on some of the most important characteristics of the Canadian municipal scene, including the contexts of partisanship and non-partisanship, the careers and daily work of municipal officials, and multilevel governance. This volume also assists directly in the collection and dissemination of data about cities as there is currently no centralized system for capturing and organizing electoral statistics at the municipal level.

Municipal democracy in Canada suffers from a representation deficit. Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level is an important first step in building high-quality comparative information on the politics of Canada’s cities.

Details

Part of the McGill-Queen's Studies in Urban Governance (number 9 in series)

304 Pages, 6 x 9

30 tables, 16 figures

ISBN 9780773553293

July 2018

Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook

Sandra Breux is associate professor at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique.

Jérôme Couture is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique.

Tables and Figures / vii
Acknowledgments / xi

Introduction / 3
Sandra Breux and Jérôme Couture

Part One: Discussing Political Parties

1 Sins of the Brother: Partisanship and Accountability in Toronto, 2014 / 23
Laura B. Stephenson, R. Michael McGregor, and Aaron A. Moore

2 Accountability without Parties? Political Business Cycle and the Re-election of Incumbents / 49
Jérôme Couture and Sandra Breux

3 Political Accountability and Responsiveness: What Is the Role of Municipal Political Parties? / 76
Jérôme Couture, Sandra Breux, and Laurence Bherer

Part Two: Discussing the Career and Function of Elected Officials

4 Responsiveness, Accountability, and the Long-Term Development of Local Political Careers in Calgary and Edmonton / 107
Jack Lucas and Anthony Sayers

5 What Happened to Incumbent Councillors in Greater Sudbury and London, Ontario, in 2014? The Role of the Ontario Ombudsman’s Reports on Alleged Secret Meetings / 132
Andrew Sancton

6 Accountability and Local Politics: Contextual Barriers and Cognitive Variety / 153
Anne Mévellec

Part Three: Issues Regarding Services and Governance in Multilevel Governments

7 Accountability and Local Collaborative Governance / 177
Joseph Lyons and Zachary Spicer

8 The Responsiveness Issue and the Blurry Lines of Accountability in Regional Transportation Planning, Governance, and Finance: The Case of Metrolinx / 200
Fanny R. Tremblay-Racicot

9 Mirror Image: The Fight against Homelessness in Calgary and Montreal / 223
Alison Smith

Conclusions

Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level: Limitations and Opportunities / 249
Ruth Dassonneville

Do Responsiveness and Accountability Matter at the Municipal Level? / 266
Jérôme Couture and Sandra Breux

Contributors / 281
Index / 285