Reaction or Reform? Subnational Evidence on P.R. Adoption from Canadian Cities

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhile national electoral reforms in the early twentieth century have received considerable attention, subnational adoption of P.R. systems in otherwise ‘non-adopting’ countries such as Canada have generally been overlooked. The strategic contexts in which these subnational reforms occurred, involving absent or emerging party systems and limited strategic knowledge, provides a new opportunity to test recent arguments about electoral reform, focused on normative ideas and strategic contexts, against an older ‘left threat’ thesis. Drawing from analyses of new electoral, archival, and news- paper data, this article offers a comparative explanation of urban electoral reform in four of the most important subnational instances of P.R. adoption in Canadian history (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg). I argue that the ‘left threat’ thesis cannot explain these cases; instead, P.R. was adopted as a result of a reform coalition for whom electoral reform was an immediate policy objective. I suggest that two recent challenges to the ‘left threat’ thesis, fit together into a persuasive alternative interpretation of early-twentieth-century electoral reform in the North American subnational context..