📣 Honouring the best in 🇨🇦 pols scholarship! The 2026 Donald Smiley 🏆shortlist 🏅: R Currie-Wood | @amyjanzwood.bsky.social | @alexmarland.bsky.social & @jaredwesley.bsky.social | @mireillelalancette.bsky.social 🥂 See u @ #CPSA_ACSP26 Pres Reception in June! 📄 files.constantcontact.com/9a690f8c601/...

When people raise concerns about the decline of local journalism in Canada and ask about the future of news, I often note that an increasing share of Canadians are getting their news about Canada from The New York Times.

🆕 Team players or the main act? 🎭️ E.O'Malley, @alexmarland.bsky.social & @galapalavicini.bsky.social take a look at prime ministerial power over 40 years in 21 countries to understand trends and discuss the 'presidentialisation' of prime ministers

It's a real pity that the Carney government has chosen to brand the sovereign wealth fund as the Canada Strong Fund. Sometimes coordinating campaign messaging with government policy goes too far. This is one of those times.

These voters are mad — and they’re wondering where their floor-crossing MP has gone www.thestar.com/politics/fed... Find out more at nationalnewswatch.com

#OpenAccess from @ejprjournal.bsky.social - Assessing the presidentialisation thesis: Prime ministerial authority in an era of rising centralisation and personalisation - https://cup.org/4tWXRXb - Eoin O’Malley, @alexmarland.bsky.social & @galapalavicini.bsky.social#OpenAccess #FirstView

Canadian party leaders often proclaim that diversity of opinions and views in their caucus is a strength, yet in practice expect parliamentarians to maintain message discipline and toe the party line. 🎓

National Post: How the NDP's equity cards turned the convention into a circus nationalpost.com/opinion/amy-...

🆕 from me: As prime minister, Mark Carney makes Question Period a low priority - globalnews.ca/news/1175009...

Throughout Canadian history, it is not unusual for legislators to switch parties in order to become its first or sole member in the legislature. Only when multiple members join does such a shift signal a potential electoral breakthrough. See partyloyalty.ca nationalnewswatch.com/2026/03/25/q...

Province House closed to public following protest in gallery preventing Nova Scotia budget progress www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

CBC News: MPs recommend that the government make it a violation of the Canada Elections Act to sign more than one candidate nomination form and to make it explicit on the forms that a person can only sign for one candidate. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Many Canadians oppose floor crossing & support a mandatory by-election. But that would empower party leaders. Next time maybe IpsosCanada will ask about requiring an MP to sit as an Independent for 30 days to consult constituents. globalnews.ca/news/1171613...

Liberal MP challenges PM’s stance on strikes on Iran as feds sidestep legality issue

‘Voters have short memories’: delayed elections commissioner report puts damper on accountability, says political scientist Alex Marland www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0...

Nova Scotia legislature opens Monday. Here's where the parties stand www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

Rules should be changed to require MPs to sit as an Independent for 30 days before being allowed to join another party's caucus. A cooling off period would encourage consultation with constituents, soften partisan vitriol, limit inducements & reduce public cynicism.

Canada is tariffing itself with interprovincial trade barriers, says IMF report financialpost.com/news/economy...

Canada’s Bill C-4 promises to make life affordable for Canadians, but one measure would exempt political parties from provincial privacy laws. And privacy advocates are sounding the alarm. zurl.co/P744l

Party infighting is rarely good for voters. It's encouraging to see the Conservative Party mending fences.

⁦Impressed by this poster in the Toronto subway. Sharp graphics & stands out. Good way to raise public awareness of local MP @lesliechurch.bsky.social.

Elections Yukon is setting out to uncover why voter turnout in the territory has plummeted.

Nunavut MP says she won’t cross the floor to join Liberals ‘at this point.’ NDP MP Lori Idlout says she's been asked to consider it by Liberal Party members, and some constituents www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... Find out more at nationalnewswatch.com

🍁 Canadian politics students: Come work with me! Funded MA (thesis) at @AcadiaU. Apply by Feb 1, 2026. www2.acadiau.ca/admissions/g...

The National Post might want to read "No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canada" partyloyalty.ca nationalpost.com/news/canada/...

Based on our partyloyalty.ca research, moves like this are very rare. When they occur, they're usually: 1️⃣ leadership-related (not policy) 2️⃣ based on a projection of future events (not past ones) 3️⃣ a harbinger of things to come (more defections) calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

Green Party, commission reach settlement over debate exclusion www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... Find out more at nationalnewswatch.com

“The image of Mark Carney is exactly delivered, top-down, banker, focused, driven — they’re just different. “So much of the Carney brand and co-ordination and messaging, stemming from the election and since then, is incredibly similar to Stephen Harper," said @alexmarland.bsky.social. #CdnPoli

Canadian English supporters urge Carney to abandon federal shift to British spelling

Ma's floor crossing is fairly typical of the hundreds we studied: a combination of policy and leadership considerations informed his choice. Learn more in our new book: partyloyalty.ca

"Why is it such a big deal... if an elected representative comes out and says something that goes against the team," asks @alexmarland.bsky.social co-author of "No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics." At 8pm with @jaredwesley.ca & @jeyantvo.bsky.social | Producer @mayaabramson.bsky.social

He's voted against his own party more than any other MP, called out leaders from Justin Trudeau to Doug Ford, and says what others won’t. Is @beynate.bsky.social the future of Liberal politics—or its biggest headache? Writer Amarah Hasham-Steele explores: thewalrus.ca/nate-erskine-smi...

Former PC MLA Becky Druhan says interference part of reason behind her departure www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

Hands off our candidates: Grassroots Tories push back against party brass in a struggle over who chooses who runs Toronto Star: One proposal...would allow local committees to appeal candidate selections made by senior officials in “exceptional circumstances” www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

Full house at Acadia University on Friday! Independent MLAs Becky Druhan & Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin shared fresh perspectives on how party loyalty can constrain democratic representation. Watch here: youtu.be/DkhoW0RRHWI

Staff interference prompted former N.S. justice minister to leave government and party www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

How did D'Entremont's floor crossing compare to others in Canadian history? And what can we do to improve party democracy? Our @alexmarland.bsky.social sat down with David Cochrane on Power & Politics today. youtu.be/WJqFpwGIy_k?...

A McGill student interviewed me about my new co-authored book -- wish I had her tech skills! www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ldb... @partyloyalty.bsky.social

Jared Wesley, Mireille Lalancette, Alex Marland: How to tamp down hyperpartisanship in Canadian politics policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/11/part...

The Toronto Star is running a lengthy excerpt from our latest book today. We go behind the scenes of hundreds of party defections and expulsions, revealing the anatomy of party (dis)loyalty in Canada.

Sitting as an Independent will be far more pallatable to voters in Edmonton Riverbend than if he had crossed the floor. Explainer at partyloyalty.ca

Usually, parliamentarians who publicly say they are thinking about crossing the floor are quickly shown the door. For research on this, see partyloyalty.ca

🧵1/ What happens when your party tells you to “be quiet until everyone else has spoken”? Chuck Porter, former Nova Scotia MLA, said that meant telling 15,000 voters in Hants West to be quiet. So in 2014, he quit the PCs and sat as an Independent 👇

Where did the tradition of Canada’s finance minister wearing new shoes on budget day come from? 👞🍁 Mary Francoli & I traced it from a 1955 quip to a 2004 staple. It’s now a distinctly Canadian photo-op that blends tradition, symbolism & media strategy. cjc.utppublishing.com/doi/10.22230...

“This book is essential reading for anyone interested in loyalty, dissent, and betrayal in political parties and legislative politics.” Rob Currie-Wood, @mountroyalu.bsky.social Learn more: bit.ly/43FUlFX @alexmarland.bsky.social @jaredwesley.ca @mireillelalancette.bsky.social #PoliSci

Having studied numerous cases of parliamentarians departing from cabinet and caucus in Canada, I cannot recall an instance in which a premier appeared alongside a departing minister at a news conference to announce the minister’s resignation and decision to sit as an Independent.

What effect will Danielle Smith's absence have on caucus unity? In our new book, No I in Team (partyloyalty.ca) we highlight the importance of face-to-face, eye-to-eye caucus management. By most accounts, Smith's leadership style relies heavily on that approach. Here are some excerpts...+

1/6 Lack of awareness of the electoral reform plebiscite is not a surprise. In his submission to the Yukon Legislative Assembly’s Special Committee on Electoral Reform, Graham White, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, offered the following advice:

Q&A | ‘Treachery’ and ‘troublemaker’ MPs: Alex Marland on why going against party leaders is verboten in Canadian politics www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...