POLS 211
FINAL STUDY GUIDE 2026 EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are the 6 Stages of Candidate Selection? - ANSWER-1. Opening of nominations: some
parties require a call for nominations to be sent to every local member
2. Candidate Search: some parties require invitation to people from marginalized groups
3. Candidate Vetting: parties screen potential candidates requiring them to disclose information
e.g. finances, media activity, and criminal record check
4. Closing Nominations: if more than one contestant makes it through, date is set for nomination
vote
5. Membership Cutoff: party sets deadline by which people have to be party members to vote,
party membership is $10
6. Nomination Meeting: when more than one nomination contested, a meeting is held for local
party members to vote to select party's candidate for general election
Criticisms of Candidate Selection - ANSWER-1. Lack of competition
2. Timing: nomination contest duration (days)
3. Lack of Candidate Diversity
4. Central Part Control
Lack of competition - ANSWER-2003-15, over 70% of nomination contests had 1 contestant
can be because a sitting MP organizes early to scare off competition
hard to find someone to run if party has no chance of winning
more people run for Conservatives and Liberals which get more seats
Timing: nomination contest duration - ANSWER-can be so short, over before most people know
it
2003-15, half the nomination contests were 3 weeks or less
253 nominations that opened and closed on the same day
more than 450 closed in 5 days or less
problem for outsider candidates who need more time to recruit supporters
short competition period see less competition
,parties can prevent anyone else from applying
criticisms toward lack of a nomination season in Canada
Conservative 2008, candidates were selected 2 years before election day
difficult for citizens to know when to get involved
timing can be an advantage to party's preferred candidate
Lack of Candidate Diversity - ANSWER-2004-2015, women were as likely to win nomination
contests, but less likely to run in the first place
28% were women
parties disproportionately nominate women in riding where party has no chance of winning
longer nomination contests and lower costs can help women candidates
problem along other marginalized groups; Indigenous, race, disability, age, and class
Central Part Control - ANSWER-1. vetting
2. appointments
- some parties nominate candidates in all ridings even when not practical to organize nomination
meeting
- snap elections
- use of appointments to boost representation
- more likely to be women, less likely to be racialised or Indigenous
- some parties appoint incumbent MPs , won't face challenges
3. protecting incumbents
- some parties argue MPs have less time to spend in their constituency to defend against a
nomination challenge
- divisive nomination contests make it harder for party members to work together on campaigns
- Parliament benefits from having experienced MPs continue on, but challenging an MP is one
way to hold them accountable, especially when party is unlikely to lose
- can slow efforts to diversify Parliament because incumbents tend to be older white men
Proposed reforms from Samara Centre for Democracy
non-partisan charity dedicated to strengthening Canadian democracy - ANSWER-fixed dates
prior to general election
,call for nominations to all party members
permit nomination challenges against sitting MPs
avoid retroactive deadlines
remove application fees when applying to become contestant
reduce the financial burden on women contestants
use appointments to increase candidate diversity
Why is leadership selection important? - ANSWER-1. narrows pool of people for PM
- parties choose 2-3 individuals from which PM will be selected
2. sometimes leadership races directly result in the selection of a PM
- e.g. John Turner, Kim Campbell, Paul Martin
- when Brian Mulroney resigned as leader of PC, a leadership race within the party occurred and
Kim Campbell won as Canada's 19th PM without the calling of a new general election
3. leadership races can shape the direction of a party
- leadership contenders represent different factions of a party, with its own policy preferences
and priorities
- e.g. 2002 Conservative Party leadership race, Jean Charest came 2nd to Pierre Polievre,
represented different factions of the party
- Charest represented older progressive conservative and Polievre has ties to the reform party
Who can vote in a leadership race? - ANSWER-relative influence of grassroots members: none,
some, full
parties decide who can vote in terms of delegates vs members vs supporters
Who are the Delegates? - ANSWER-local party members selected to represent their riding when
they vote at a leadership convention, delegated conventions
delegated conventions have fallen out of use in Canada
Who are the Members? - ANSWER-most Canadian parties hold votes of a larger pool of party
members who join the party by a certain date and paid $10 to join
Who are the Supporters? - ANSWER-broader group of people vote in leadership races, they
register with the party but don't pay a membership fee and don't become permanent party
members
federal liberals use this
, permanent residents (unlike general elections)
ages 14-17
How are votes counted in a leadership race? - ANSWER-one member one vote (e.g. Greens),
meaning votes of a party member are counted equally
some parties weight some votes more, by riding
e.g. Conservatives used an equal weight rule, each riding worth 100 points, regardless of how
many local members had
this is so that members in eastern Canada wouldn't be flooded by votes of western Canada
2021, Conservative votes to change rules so each riding is capped at 100 points
ridings with fewer than 100 members get only as many points as the number of ballots cast in
riding
Who can run in a leadership race? - ANSWER-1. membership
- make sure someone has ties with the party
2. fees
- some argue fees keep out candidates that do not have broad enough support to raise funds
- others argue fees prevent people from marginalized groups from running
3. signature
- certain number of signature needed to run
4. language skills
- most parties don't have formal language requirements
- Green Party has bilingualism requirement since 2002, Indigenous applicants exempted
- all have been proficient enough in both French/English since Pierre Elliot Trudeau, 1968
- concerns about language requirement ruling out qualified candidates
How long should a leadership race be? - ANSWER-Benefits of longer races
- more inclusive
- voters get to know contenders better, including in terms of policy
- support party building, sell more memberships
FINAL STUDY GUIDE 2026 EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are the 6 Stages of Candidate Selection? - ANSWER-1. Opening of nominations: some
parties require a call for nominations to be sent to every local member
2. Candidate Search: some parties require invitation to people from marginalized groups
3. Candidate Vetting: parties screen potential candidates requiring them to disclose information
e.g. finances, media activity, and criminal record check
4. Closing Nominations: if more than one contestant makes it through, date is set for nomination
vote
5. Membership Cutoff: party sets deadline by which people have to be party members to vote,
party membership is $10
6. Nomination Meeting: when more than one nomination contested, a meeting is held for local
party members to vote to select party's candidate for general election
Criticisms of Candidate Selection - ANSWER-1. Lack of competition
2. Timing: nomination contest duration (days)
3. Lack of Candidate Diversity
4. Central Part Control
Lack of competition - ANSWER-2003-15, over 70% of nomination contests had 1 contestant
can be because a sitting MP organizes early to scare off competition
hard to find someone to run if party has no chance of winning
more people run for Conservatives and Liberals which get more seats
Timing: nomination contest duration - ANSWER-can be so short, over before most people know
it
2003-15, half the nomination contests were 3 weeks or less
253 nominations that opened and closed on the same day
more than 450 closed in 5 days or less
problem for outsider candidates who need more time to recruit supporters
short competition period see less competition
,parties can prevent anyone else from applying
criticisms toward lack of a nomination season in Canada
Conservative 2008, candidates were selected 2 years before election day
difficult for citizens to know when to get involved
timing can be an advantage to party's preferred candidate
Lack of Candidate Diversity - ANSWER-2004-2015, women were as likely to win nomination
contests, but less likely to run in the first place
28% were women
parties disproportionately nominate women in riding where party has no chance of winning
longer nomination contests and lower costs can help women candidates
problem along other marginalized groups; Indigenous, race, disability, age, and class
Central Part Control - ANSWER-1. vetting
2. appointments
- some parties nominate candidates in all ridings even when not practical to organize nomination
meeting
- snap elections
- use of appointments to boost representation
- more likely to be women, less likely to be racialised or Indigenous
- some parties appoint incumbent MPs , won't face challenges
3. protecting incumbents
- some parties argue MPs have less time to spend in their constituency to defend against a
nomination challenge
- divisive nomination contests make it harder for party members to work together on campaigns
- Parliament benefits from having experienced MPs continue on, but challenging an MP is one
way to hold them accountable, especially when party is unlikely to lose
- can slow efforts to diversify Parliament because incumbents tend to be older white men
Proposed reforms from Samara Centre for Democracy
non-partisan charity dedicated to strengthening Canadian democracy - ANSWER-fixed dates
prior to general election
,call for nominations to all party members
permit nomination challenges against sitting MPs
avoid retroactive deadlines
remove application fees when applying to become contestant
reduce the financial burden on women contestants
use appointments to increase candidate diversity
Why is leadership selection important? - ANSWER-1. narrows pool of people for PM
- parties choose 2-3 individuals from which PM will be selected
2. sometimes leadership races directly result in the selection of a PM
- e.g. John Turner, Kim Campbell, Paul Martin
- when Brian Mulroney resigned as leader of PC, a leadership race within the party occurred and
Kim Campbell won as Canada's 19th PM without the calling of a new general election
3. leadership races can shape the direction of a party
- leadership contenders represent different factions of a party, with its own policy preferences
and priorities
- e.g. 2002 Conservative Party leadership race, Jean Charest came 2nd to Pierre Polievre,
represented different factions of the party
- Charest represented older progressive conservative and Polievre has ties to the reform party
Who can vote in a leadership race? - ANSWER-relative influence of grassroots members: none,
some, full
parties decide who can vote in terms of delegates vs members vs supporters
Who are the Delegates? - ANSWER-local party members selected to represent their riding when
they vote at a leadership convention, delegated conventions
delegated conventions have fallen out of use in Canada
Who are the Members? - ANSWER-most Canadian parties hold votes of a larger pool of party
members who join the party by a certain date and paid $10 to join
Who are the Supporters? - ANSWER-broader group of people vote in leadership races, they
register with the party but don't pay a membership fee and don't become permanent party
members
federal liberals use this
, permanent residents (unlike general elections)
ages 14-17
How are votes counted in a leadership race? - ANSWER-one member one vote (e.g. Greens),
meaning votes of a party member are counted equally
some parties weight some votes more, by riding
e.g. Conservatives used an equal weight rule, each riding worth 100 points, regardless of how
many local members had
this is so that members in eastern Canada wouldn't be flooded by votes of western Canada
2021, Conservative votes to change rules so each riding is capped at 100 points
ridings with fewer than 100 members get only as many points as the number of ballots cast in
riding
Who can run in a leadership race? - ANSWER-1. membership
- make sure someone has ties with the party
2. fees
- some argue fees keep out candidates that do not have broad enough support to raise funds
- others argue fees prevent people from marginalized groups from running
3. signature
- certain number of signature needed to run
4. language skills
- most parties don't have formal language requirements
- Green Party has bilingualism requirement since 2002, Indigenous applicants exempted
- all have been proficient enough in both French/English since Pierre Elliot Trudeau, 1968
- concerns about language requirement ruling out qualified candidates
How long should a leadership race be? - ANSWER-Benefits of longer races
- more inclusive
- voters get to know contenders better, including in terms of policy
- support party building, sell more memberships
