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Growing Apart? Partisan Sorting in Canada, 1992–2015

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2017

Anthony Kevins  and
Stuart N. Soroka
Anthony Kevins*
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
Stuart N. Soroka*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
*
Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 7, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, email: akevins@ps.au.dk
Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, 5370 North Quad, 105 South State Street, Ann Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1285, email: ssoroka@umich.edu
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Abstract

Recent decades have been marked by increasingly divided partisan opinion in the US. This study investigates whether a similar trend might be occurring in Canada. It does so by examining redistributive preferences, using Canadian Election Studies data from every election since 1992. Results suggest that Canada has experienced a surge in partisan sorting that is comparable to that in the US. Over time, like-minded citizens have increasingly clustered into parties, with increasingly stark divisions between partisans.

Résumé

Aux États-Unis, les dernières décennies ont été marquées par des opinions partisanes de plus en plus divisées. Cette étude tente de savoir si une tendance similaire s'est développée au Canada. Pour ce faire, elle examine les préférences redistributives, utilisant les données de l’Étude électorale canadienne provenant de toutes les élections depuis 1992. Les résultats suggèrent que le Canada a connu une hausse de la sélection partisane qui est comparable à celle observée aux États-Unis. Au fil du temps, des citoyens aux vues similaires se sont regroupés dans des partis politiques, donnant lieu à des fossés grandissants entre les partisans.

Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 103 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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