Table Of ContentACROSS THE AISLE
Opposition in Canadian Politics
How do parties with official opposition status influence Canadian poli-
tics? Across the Aisle is an innovative examination of the theory and
practice of opposition in Canada, both in Parliament and in provincial
legislatures. Extending from the pre-Confederation era to the present
day, it focuses on whether Canada has developed a coherent tradition
of parliamentary opposition.
David E. Smith argues that Canada has in fact failed to develop such
a tradition. He investigates several possible reasons for this failure, in-
cluding the long dominance of the Liberal party, which arrested the
tradition of viewing the opposition as an alternative government; peri-
ods of minority government induced by the proliferation of parties; the
role of the news media, which have largely displaced Parliament as a
forum for commentary on government policy; and, finally, the increas-
ing popularity of calls for direct action in politics.
Readers of Across the Aisle will gain a renewed understanding of of-
ficial opposition that goes beyond Stornoway and shadow cabinets,
illuminating both the historical evolution and recent developments of
opposition politics in Canada.
david e. smith, frsc, is the author of The People’s House of Commons
(winner of the Donner Prize for the best public policy book by a Cana-
dian), Federalism and the Constitution of Canada, and many books on
Canadian politics. He is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor
in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson
University.
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Across the Aisle
Opposition in Canadian Politics
DAVID E. SMITH
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2013
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in Canada
ISBN 978-1-4426-4736-7 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-4426-1547-2 (paper)
Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-
based inks.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Smith, David E., 1936–
Across the aisle: opposition in Canadian politics / David E. Smith.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4426-4736-7 (bound). – ISBN 978-1-4426-1547-2 (pbk.)
1. Opposition (Political science) – Canada. 2. Canada. Parliament – Powers
and duties. 3. Representative government and representation – Canada.
4. Canada – Politics and government. I. Title.
JL167.S65 2013 328.71'0769 C2013-900572-2
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to
Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publish-
ing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its publishing
activities.
Dedicated to Ralph Goodale, Roy Romanow, and Brad Wall
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Contents
Preface ix
Part One: Introduction
1 Opposition: ‘Somebody Has toDo It’ 3
Part Two: Parliamentary Opposition
2 From Coalition to Coalition, 1867–1920 23
3 The Liberal Ascendancy, 1921–1956 42
4 Majorities and Minorities, 1957–1992 62
5 The Mill of Opposition, 1993–2011 83
Part Three: Challenges for Parliamentary Opposition
6 Opposition, More or Less 101
7 Opposition in the Federation 127
8 Whither Parliamentary Opposition? 144
Part Four: Conclusion
9 The Problem of Parliamentary Opposition Today 161
viii Contents
Notes 169
Bibliography 197
Index 219
Preface
To say that the public is disillusioned with Parliament is to state a com-
monplace. Claims of a democratic deficit, verified by forms of democrat-
ic audit, are by now a familiar topic in discussions of Canadian politics.
Critics claim that strict party discipline in the House of Commons, cou-
pled with an electoral system that awards everything – which is to say,
the single seat in contention in each constituency – to the candidate who
wins the most but not necessarily a majority of votes cast, has distorted
and suppressed representation of public opinion. It is also said that
prime ministerial domination (or worse) of cabinet, public service, and
Parliament has increased the gravity of the democratic deficiency. What
is to be done to right what appears to be a serious imbalance in the ar-
rangement and practice of Canadian political institutions?
This is too large a question to be answered in a single book. Instead,
this study examines the evolution and present condition of the political
corrective to concentrated power that the system already provides – leg-
islative opposition. Like its Westminster exemplar, Canada’s Parliament
(and its provincial legislatures, with occasional variations) is divided
into government and opposition. In the United Kingdom, the adjective
‘loyal’ by tradition describes the principal opposition; in Canada, where
for nearly a century more than one party has sat opposite the govern-
ment, the practice has been to use the word ‘official.’ The important
point about the arrangement that for the purpose of this discussion is
the one found in the House of Commons is that notwithstanding there
being two sides, a sense of oneness holds them together. While it is true
that each Member of Parliament is equal because each is elected by vot-
ers in a single constituency, it is also the case that voters go to the polls
aware that their collective action will normally determine who will form
