Tag: Platforms

PSE History Through Election Manifestos: 1979-1993

Late to this incredibly hip party on Canadian PSE history?  Catch up with the previous two installments here and here. The late 70s to mid-90s were maybe the ghastliest period in Canadian history.  Economically, they were full of unemployment, inflation and debt.  Yet our politics were driven not by economics, as they would have been in normal countries, but by national unity: a referendum in 1980, constitutional conferences in 1981, repatriation in 1982, the Meech Lake Accord in 1987, three

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Canadian PSE History through Election Manifestos: 1963-1974

If you’re just joining us, we’re exploring the history of post-secondary education in Canada as seen through election manifestos. 1949 to 1962 was yesterday.  The party manifestos for the five federal elections from 1963 to 1974 represent a kind of a highpoint in dealing with post-secondary education, research, and skills. It’s a fascinating period because you can see the pendulum swing from activist federal ambitions in education and skills to total avoidance. The Socreds were the most consistent party through

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Canadian PSE History through Election Manifestos: 1949-1962

Care about politics?  Of course you do. Horrified by the current federal election campaign?  Of course you are.  Well, the One Thought blog has you covered: an entire week on previous federal election campaigns, just to keep you distracted from the present one!  This is fascinating, I swear.  No, really. Over the summer, I spent a ludicrous amount of time on Université Laval’s Poltext site, which contains all the federal election manifestos going back to 1949 (and much else besides), and it occurred to me

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Manitoba’s Curious Election

Manitoba votes tomorrow.  There’s not really much suspense in the whole thing: the Tories are going to get re-elected with a reduced majority.  And possibly because of the lack of suspense, the parties are treating this election in a very uncharacteristic manner. Ages ago – that is, before 1993 – political parties in Canada could say pretty much whatever they wanted and promise anything.  “We will spend more on education!” one party would say.  “No, more on housing!” another would

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PEI Platform Analysis

Prince Edward Island goes to the polls tomorrow, and while it is Canada’s littlest province with an electorate 10% smaller than the University of Toronto’s student body (unbelievably, the provincial budget is actually 25% smaller), but this is a pan-Canadian blog and by God no provincial budget or election is too small for us at HESA Towers to cover.  So, buckle up to find out what the parties are offering. Let’s start with the NDP, who are not even remotely

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