Ch9 Political Parties Test Bank

CHAPTER 9

Political Parties

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A political party is:
   1. a political organization that seeks to influence public policy without competing for election.
   2. a formal organization of people who unite under a common label and contest elections.
   3. an informal collection of people who share a public-policy concern and urge government action and changes to social values and behavior.
   4. an organization of workers that represents its members’ interests, especially in bargaining with their employer.
2. A(n) ________ party is a small political party run by people of high social status, while a(n) ________ party is a grassroots political party characterized by its efforts to sign up members.
   1. brokerage; catch-all
   2. mass; bourgeois
   3. elite; mass
   4. conservative; liberal
3. Which of the following statements is correct?
   1. The catch-all party places greater emphasis of the charisma of the party leader as opposed to ideology.
   2. The primary objective of a catch-all party is to find ways to win in order to improve society.
   3. Catch-all parties must appeal to voters with varying viewpoints and adapt to the preferences of the many.
   4. All of the above
4. What is the Canadian term for a party that builds bridges between different regional factions?
   1. brokerage party
   2. conservative party
   3. third way party
   4. integrated party
5. Which of the following statements applies to the Bloc Québécois?
   1. It was formed as an elite party dedicated to Quebec independence.
   2. It was born a brokerage party dedicated to keeping Quebec in Canada.
   3. It has begun running candidates in Eastern Ontario.
   4. It is a far right-wing mass party.
6. In general, what is the main objective of the Liberal Party of Canada?
   1. to form government with a policy agenda that appeals to the median voter
   2. to establish the conditions for sovereignty-association with Quebec
   3. to advance an agenda of environmental and traditional social democracy
   4. to reduce the size of the federal government and promote provincial autonomy
7. A ________ advocates replacing capitalism with a more co-operative economic system, while a ________ accepts and attempts to harness capitalism to achieve equality of result.
   1. welfare socialist; business socialist
   2. traditional social democrat; third-way social democrat
   3. welfare liberal; business liberal
   4. libertarian; red tory
8. During the third party system (1962 to 1993), what helped political parties build pan-Canadian agendas and support?
   1. social media
   2. broadcast television
   3. nationwide radio
   4. partisan press
9. Which of the following is the best example of an integrated party?
   1. Saskatchewan Party
   2. New Democratic Party
   3. BC Liberal Party
   4. Bloc Quebecois
10. The federal ________ and the ________ are a good example of party units that have different ideologies and few formal ties.
    1. Liberal Party; BC Liberal Party
    2. Liberal Party; New Brunswick Liberal Party
    3. Conservative Party; Alberta United Conservative Party
    4. Liberal Party; Prince Edward Island Liberal Party
11. What are federal and provincial parties that operate autonomously from each other, even though they may have similar names, known as?
    1. catch-all parties
    2. confederal parties
    3. brokerage parties
    4. truncated
12. The Yukon Party, Saskatchewan Party, and Parti Quebecois are examples of ________ and do not run candidates at the ________ level.
    1. mass parties; federal
    2. brokerage parties; provincial
    3. confederal parties; provincial
    4. truncated parties; federal
13. Which brand of conservatism distinguishes the Canadian right from its counterpart in the United States?
    1. economic conservatism
    2. social conservatism
    3. toryism
    4. libertarianism
14. The ________ traces its origins to the post-World War I social gospel movement led by labour activists such as J.S. Woodsworth.
    1. Green Party of Canada
    2. Liberal Party of Canada
    3. The People’s Party of Canada
    4. New Democratic Party
15. What was the most successful Quebec protest party at the federal level?
    1. Ligue Nationaliste Canadienne
    2. Bloc Populaire Canadien
    3. Bloc Québécois
    4. Parti Québécois
16. What is a party convention?
    1. an unofficial gathering of members of a political party to discuss matters related to elections and campaigning
    2. an unwritten rule that dictates caucus members must toe the party line
    3. an official gathering of party delegates to decide on matters of policy and /or leadership
    4. a written code specifying a party’s core principles and rules
17. What is the local organizational unit of a federal party in Canada?
    1. an electoral district association
    2. a delegate convention
    3. a caucus
    4. a standing committee
18. By tradition, Canadian party leaders are expected to resign if they receive:
    1. fewer than two-thirds of the votes in a leadership review.
    2. fewer than half of the votes in a leadership review.
    3. a petition signed by two-thirds of all electoral district association presidents.
    4. a petition signed by half of all electoral district association presidents.
19. In Canada, a leadership ________ is an election within a political party to select a leader.
    1. by-election
    2. contest
    3. primary
    4. review
20. Which of the following is the most common party leadership selection method in Canada today?
    1. caucus choice
    2. delegate convention
    3. one-member, one-vote
    4. national executive choice
21. The parliamentary wing of a party consists of its ________ and the ________.
    1. caucus; staffers who support them
    2. members; portion of the electorate who identify with the party
    3. national office; standing committees that support the office
    4. national executives; provincial executives that support them
22. A ________ is someone who identifies with, and is a staunch supporter of, a political party.
    1. populist
    2. broker
    3. partisan
    4. voter
23. Which of the following statements about partisanship in Canada is correct?
    1. A person’s party identification is not necessarily connected with how they vote in elections.
    2. While many voters switch their support for political parties, this is rare among politicians.
    3. Many Canadians feel attachments to different parties at the federal and provincial levels.
    4. All of the above
24. In the first party era, ______ parties were more common; in the second party era, ______ parties were more common; in the third era, ____ parties were more common
    1. mass, elite, catch-all
    2. catch-all, elite, mass
    3. elite, mass, catch-all
    4. mass, catch-all, elite
25. What is a situation in which a member of the legislature leaves one political party to join another?
    1. toeing the line
    2. crossing the floor
    3. jumping the aisle
    4. pork barreling
26. A catch-all party is a party that:
    1. is only successful in one province or region of the country.
    2. prioritizes the design of effective public policy over its own popularity.
    3. focuses on increasing its electoral appeal by remaining ideologically flexible.
    4. focuses on a single issue or policy area.
27. Left-wing parties are generally supportive of:
    1. higher-taxes on the wealthiest citizens and largest companies
    2. support for workers and unions
    3. policies designed to promote social equality and inclusion
    4. All of the above
28. In 2003, the ________ merged with the ________ to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
    1. Progressive Conservative Party, Canadian Alliance
    2. Bloc Quebecois, Reform Party
    3. Reform Party, Canadian Alliance
    4. Social Credit, CCF
29. The rise of mass parties coincided with:
    1. the advent of television
    2. the extension of the franchise
    3. the aftermath of 9/11
    4. the demise of catch-all parties
30. The brokerage party is becoming increasingly obsolete as a result of:
    1. the rise of the urban/suburban/rural cleavage.
    2. an increased focus on individual voters as opposed to regional blocks.
    3. strategists targeting “middle class Canada.”
    4. All of the above
31. Today, Canadian political parties are best considered:
    1. organizations representing specific occupational groups (e.g., farmers, businesspeople).
    2. duplicates of American political parties (i.e., Republicans and Democrats).
    3. fully-integrated at the federal and provincial levels.
    4. mixtures of various ideological groups.
32. The Liberal Party of Canada’s support is heavily concentrated in _______, while it is weakest in _______.
    1. remote areas, the suburbs
    2. Western Canada, Quebec
    3. Canada’s largest cities, rural areas of the Prairies
    4. French Canada, English Canada
33. Which ideology calls for more individual reasonability and less reliance on government?
    1. toryism
    2. libertarianism
    3. welfare liberalism
    4. populism
34. Which election marked the largest earthquake in Canadian electoral history, reducing the governing party to just two seats?
    1. 1898
    2. 1968
    3. 1993
    4. 2015
35. Third-way social democracy emerged in Canada:
    1. in the 1940s under the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.
    2. in the 1960s under the New Democratic Party.
    3. in the 1990s as an attempt to moderate the anti-capitalist aspects of democratic socialism.
    4. in the 2010s, as the Bloc Quebecois suffered its greatest defeat.
36. Which of the following federal parties has not been led by a woman?
    1. NDP
    2. Liberal Party
    3. Progressive Conservative Party
    4. Green Party
37. Which party promoted the slogan “the West wants in” throughout the 1990s?
    1. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
    2. The Progressives
    3. The Conservative Party of Canada
    4. The Reform Party
38. Which of the following organizations best exemplifies the character of a brokerage party?
    1. Lucien Bouchard’s Bloc Quebecois (1993 to 1996)
    2. Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives (1984 to 1990)
    3. Lucien Bouchard’s Parti Quebecois (1996 to 2001)
    4. Preston Manning’s Reform Party (1987 to 2000)
39. What is the name for an increasingly common balloting process that allows party members a more direct say in leadership selection?
    1. primary
    2. one member, one vote
    3. delegate convention
    4. caucus choice
40. As national organizations, political parties emerged in Canada:
    1. in the late-1700s, to structure representative democracy.
    2. in the mid-1800s, to structure responsible government.
    3. in the late-1800s, to structure legislative votes.
    4. in the mid-1900s, to structure election campaigns.
41. What action was viewed as completing the NDP’s full transition to third way social democracy?
    1. It ran on a “Just Society” platform in the 1968 federal election.
    2. It removed the word “socialism” from its constitution in 2013.
    3. It opposed Canada’s involvement in the Persian Gulf War in 1990.
    4. It opposed the full legalization of cannabis in 2015.
42. Which of the following statements about liberalism in Canada is accurate?
    1. it supports equality of opportunity
    2. it supports policies like affirmative action
    3. it falls short of supporting social leveling to achieve equality of result
    4. All of the above
43. Which ideological group values government intervention to safeguard public morality?
    1. welfare liberals
    2. social conservatives
    3. libertarians
    4. democratic socialists
44. Which of the following statements is accurate?
    1. Western Canada is known to many as the bastion of libertarianism.
    2. Eastern Canada features a more receptive audience for right-wing values like small government.
    3. Devoutly religious people tend to align with left-wing parties.
    4. All of the above
45. Which of the following is not associated with left-wing political parties in Canada?
    1. They support government planning and regulation.
    2. They support a woman’s legal right to choose whether to have an abortion.
    3. They support strict sentencing with a focus on victims’ rights and retribution.
    4. They are sometimes labeled as progressive.
46. Which of the following is not associated with right-wing political parties in Canada?
    1. They support workers’ rights and unions.
    2. They support lower and more equal tax rates for all.
    3. They support privatization of public services.
    4. They are sometimes labeled as Tories.
47. Which of the following parties has never formed government or official opposition at the federal level?
    1. the Conservative Party of Canada
    2. the New Democratic Party of Canada
    3. the Liberal Party of Canada
    4. the Green Party of Canada
48. Which of the following is a major party in provincial politics in all three westernmost provinces?
    1. the Liberal Party
    2. the Progressive Conservative Party
    3. the People’s Alliance
    4. None of the above
49. Which of the following did not result from a group of partisans leaving one or more parties to form their own new party?
    1. the Progressives
    2. the Liberals
    3. the Bloc Quebecois
    4. the Reform Party
50. Which of the following parties is right-wing?
    1. the Saskatchewan Party
    2. the Yukon Party
    3. the Coalition Avenir Quebec
    4. All of the above

True or False Questions

1. Brokerage parties are more common at the provincial level, where ideological conflict is more pronounced.
2. The first party system in Canada (1867 to 1917) was characterized by power rotating between Conservative and New Democratic parties.
3. The first nationwide party election did not occur until 1898, although loose factions of legislators existed prior to Confederation.
4. The second party system in Canada (1921 to 1957) saw several elite parties gain traction at the expense of catch-all parties.
5. Since a Supreme Court judgement in 2003, there has been no minimum number of required candidates to register a political party.
6. Toryism and democratic socialism are both collectivist ideologies that view society as more than a sum of individuals.
7. Yukon is the only territory with partisan representation as opposed to consensus government.
8. In general, Atlantic Canada has tended to feature less integrated political parties than Western Canada.
9. In 2017, Canada celebrated its 150 years of existence. Up to that point, the Liberal Party of Canada had never had a woman serve as leader at the federal level.
10. Most parties have their own constitutions to establish basic matters such as the party’s name, its principles, its objectives, and basic rules of governance (like how to choose a party leader).
11. Most delegates to party conventions are chosen by members at electoral district association meetings.
12. The generally-accepted threshold to retain power following a leadership review is two-thirds of all ballots cast.
13. Candidates in elite parties campaigned very little and instead place a high priority on their personal contacts with local notables.
14. The primary goal of a catch-all party is to grow the organization’s formal membership.
15. Television gave birth to brokerage parties in Canada, while social media may be bringing about their demise.
16. Left-wing parties promote economic growth through reducing taxes.
17. In Western Canada, most party systems feature polarized competition between the New Democratic Party and a conservative opponent.
18. Welfare liberalism accepts the market economy and seeks to extend its benefits to create a more just society.
19. Toryism is a branch of conservatism that promotes the monarchy, hierarchy, and incrementalism.
20. Provincial party systems are consistent across Canada: they all feature two-party competition between Liberals and Conservatives.
21. Minority governments have been commonplace in the transitions between different federal party systems.
22. A truncated party is characterized by fights over resources between its federal and provincial wings.
23. The Liberal Party of Canada has been referred to as the country’s natural governing party.

1. In Canada, ideological divisions often overlap with geographic and ethnic divisions.
2. Federal party systems tend to last at least one generation (i.e., more than twenty-five years).
3. The Progressive Conservatives were formed by a formal merger of the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party in 1935.
4. In Canada today, most political parties choose their leaders by allowing caucus members to vote by secret ballot.
5. In Canada, it is better to consider most party names as brands than pure ideological labels.
6. New Democrats have had more success at winning elections at the provincial level than at the federal level.
7. The Liberals are considered to be a major party in all ten provincial party systems.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the impact on political parties in Canada of extending the franchise to women and lifting property qualifications on the right to vote?
2. Do the federal Conservative Party and the provincial PCs always get along? Provide a recent example.
3. Briefly outline some of the factors that contribute to the Liberal Party of Canada’s position as Canada’s natural-governing party.
4. What are party conventions, and what purpose do they serve in the life of a party?
5. What are the motivations and consequences for politicians who decide to cross the floor?
6. How do brokerage and catch-all parties differ from one another?
7. What are the key differences between major and minor political parties? Provide an example of each.
8. What are the two mainstream branches of democratic socialism, and how do they differ?
9. What are the key differences between business and welfare liberalism?
10. Distinguish between at least three variants of conservatism in Canada.
11. What are some of the key characteristics of the periods that separate federal party systems?
12. What are the three possible relationships between federal parties and their provincial counterparts?
13. What is the role and structure of a party’s extra-parliamentary wing?
14. What functions does the leader of a party serve?
15. What are the differences between the one-member, one-vote system and a weighted constituency system? Why might a party employ each method?
16. Which organization do you consider to be the most successful minor party in Canadian history, and why?
17. What is the fundamental difference between left-wing and right-wing parties when it comes to their beliefs in the role of government in society and the economy?
18. Why is brokerage party politics on the decline?
19. Why is floor-crossing so rare in Canadian politics?
20. What is libertarianism, and where is it strongest in Canada?

Essay Questions

1. Describe the evolution of Canada’s most successful social democratic party, and explain why it has only attained office at the provincial level.
2. Does the presence of truncated parties enhance or detract from the quality of democracy in Canada? Defend your response with the use of examples.
3. Does the recent decline of brokerage parties bode well for the health of national unity in Canada? Why or why not?
4. Explain how a party’s method of leadership selection affects the type of leader they receive.
5. What are the major factors that contribute to the breakdown of a party system in Canada?
6. How has technology helped change political parties and party systems throughout Canadian history?