Bull's eye : deconstructing the practice of targeting 'ethnic voters' during Canadian federal election campaigns

Abstract

On May 2, 2011, the Conservative Party of Canada won its first majority government in decades. Throughout the last decade, the Conservatives have actively targeted 'ethnic voters' in order to achieve electoral victories over the Liberals and become the political voice of 'ethnic voters'. This research study deconstructs the practice of targeting 'ethnic voters' during Canadian federal election campaigns and analyzes the party identification of 'ethnic voters'. The research was executed using a combination of one-on-one key informant interviews and a selective constituency analysis. Some of the questions directing the research study include but are not limited to: Who are 'ethnic voters'? Through what means do Canadian federal political parties court 'ethnic voters'? Does the increased attention paid to 'ethnic voters' translate into substantive representation in the Canadian House of Commons? The findings suggest that the party identification of 'ethnic voter' constituencies has transformed over the last decade in large part due to the courting strategy employed by the Conservative Party.