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An Analysis of Leadership Selection in the Liberal Party of Canada, 1919 to 1968

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An Analysis of Leadership Selection in the Liberal Party of Canada, 1919 to 1968 University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 4-1-1971 An analysis of leadership selection in the Liberal party of Canada, 1919 to 1968. Richard J. Simpson University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Simpson, Richard J., "An analysis of leadership selection in the Liberal party of Canada, 1919 to 1968." (1971). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 6700. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/6700 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. m ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP SELECTION IN THE LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA, 1919 TO 1968 by Richard J. Simpson A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario April, 1971 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EC53108 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform EC53108 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PC Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. / 1 6 H - 5 3 A Approved 358987 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT An attempt is made to evaluate leadership in the Liberal party of Canada in the context of a particular form of selection process. In particular, the relationship of pragmatic, "brokerage” leadership to the degree of conflict or consensus characteristic of the selection process is explored. Utilizing existing historical and quantitative research, the nature of leadership selection in the Liberal party can be seen as basically a consensual, rather than competitive (democratic), process. This characteristic is largely a result of the prevailing structure and ideology of the party, as well as of the leadership convention itself. It can be maintained, there­ fore, that the performance of party leaders within the political system may well be more related to the nature of party, than to a mere pragmatic response to certain societal conditions. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The contributions of several individuals made the completion of this project a possibility. Professors Trevor Price and Lawrence Leduc, Jr. were sources of positive criticism, of fruitful suggestions, and of sincere encouragement. Too numerous to mention are those people who offered both stimulating ideas and provided the incentive to make use of them. In spite of the above benefits, the possibility of shortcomings in the work could not be entirely eliminated. For this aspect, the author takes the sole responsibility. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS page ABSTRACT.............................................. il ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .............. iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: AN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP. .............. 1 Party and the Leadership Selection Process. 7 Consensus and Conflict in Leadership Selection, 11 II THE NATIONAL PARTY CONVENTION AND LEADERSHIP SELECTION.................................. 14 The Structure of National Leadership Conventions ......... .............. 23 Delegates and Representation ......... 33 The Role of the Party Leader ........ 41 The Leadership Convention and Party Conflict. 56 III THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONVENTION AND PARTY COHESION.................................... 58 The Regulation of Internal Party Conflict . 74 IV THE LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES.................. 76 Candidate Behaviour: The Regional Representative and the Professional Politician. 81 The Party Reformer .............. 102 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. page CHAPTER V THE PARTY LE/DERS, ............ 109 The Non-Competitiveness of Party Leaders .... 120 Candidates and Leaders; The Rules of the Game and Preselection ...... ............ ... 130 VI THE LIBERAL IDBOIDGY AND THE SELECTION OF LEADERS. ............ 133 Ideology and Party Leadership................... 147 VII CONCLUSIONS.......... 155 Influences on the Nature of Leadership Selection 155 Leadership, Leadership Selection and Political Party. .............. 171 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................173 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES TABLE page I Convention Balloting Results, 1919 to 1968, , . 19 II Percentages of Candidates vTith Provincial or Federal Party Experience , ................. 78 III Provincial, Parliamentary and Cabinet Careers of Leadership Candidates.. ...................... 79 IV Candidates According to Length of Federal Political Careers Prior to Candidacy............ 81 V Provincial Party Experience .... .......... 82 VI Portfolios Occupied by Leadership Candidates. 99 Vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF DIAGRAMS DIAQEIAM page I Political Party and the Leadership Selection Process........................... 10 II Party Ideology and Leadership Selection. 149 III Party Leadership and Party Ideology.......... 154 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP Canadian party leaders^ have been the subject of a relatively extensive volume of scholarly.research. The analysis, however, of leadership in Canadian parties has been largely confined within what may be termed the historical approach.2 This approach generally contains two basic deficiencies - an exaggerated emphasis on personality as opposed to ideological, institutional or social factors,^ and an inordinate or complete stress on the "output" aspect of party leaders at the expense of a consideration of l"Party leader" refers strictly to individuals who are recognized as the leader of the party in terms of both its electoral and Parliamentary activity. 2Some examples of the historical school are: Joseph Schull, Laurier: The First Canadian. (Toronto: Macmillan, 1965); H. B. Neatby, William Lyon Mackenzie King: 1924-1932. The Lonely Heights. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963); Kenneth McNaught, A Prophet in Politics: A Biography of J. Woodsworth. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1959); and Bruce Hutchison, Mr. Prime Minister. 1867-1964. (Toronto; Longmans, 1964). ^Two works which have studied leadership in the context of wider institutional or ideological variables are W. D. Young, The Anatomy of a Party: The National CCF. 1932-1961. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967) and J. L. Granatstein, The Politics of Survival: The Conservative Party of Canada. 1939-1945. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4 "input" variables. The aim of this study is to redress partially this imbalance by analyzing leadership as a dependent rather than an independent variable in the political process. Therefore, by focusing on the selection of party leaders, analysis is directed at the ideological and institutional context, particularly the political party, in which leadership emerges. In this manner, party leaders are viewed as a response to influences fashioned by their institutional and ideological environment. The selection of party leaders in the Liberal Party of Canada from 1919 to 1968 commends itself to a study of leadership in the above context. The characteristics of the party in this period which facilitate analysis derive from the relative stability of key variables involved in leadership selection - (1) the permanence of the national party convention as the mechanism of leadership selection. 4ln other words, interest has been focused on the leader* s capability of influencing the environment
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