He was controversial and outspoken. He was photographed executing a pirouette behind the Queen's back. He slid down bannisters and had a vast repertoire of funny faces. He made certain to always pin a rose to his lapel. He said things like "just watch me" and "fuddle duddle". He couldn't go out in public without being mobbed by vivacious crowds. We wanted his autograph and to have our photos taken next to him. He held celebrity status. He arguably ignited the most national pride and political interest our country has ever felt. He was Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. It was "Trudeaumania". This connection between culture and power was clearly exemplified more recently during the 2008 United States presidential election. Barrack Obama created a culture of hope. Careful framing resulted in simple images of Obama speaking to crowds evoking a feeling of hope in American voters. Every photo of him was taken from below to create the illusion of power. His words were carefully chosen to create an empowering narrative. His slogan "Yes We Can" was chanted all over America. He was the popular and "cool" candidate. People were excited. The illusion of power quickly became a reality. "Trudeaumania" was arguably the most significant Canadian example of the important role culture plays in achieving political power. The course text Introduction to Politics, defines power as "the ability to make others do something that they would not have chosen to do" (Garner, Ferdinand, Lawson & MacDonald, 2009). The same text defines political culture as "the totality of ideas and attitudes towards authority, discipline, governmental responsibilities and entitlements, and associated patterns of cultural transmission such as the e... ... middle of paper ... ... 77. Garner, R., Ferdinand, P., Lawson, S., & MacDonald, D. B. (2009). Introduction to politics. (Canadian ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. Ignatieff, M. (2013). Fire and ashes: Success in politics. Toronto, ON: Random House. Lakoff, G. (2008). The political mind. Toronto: Penguin. Litt, P. (2008). Trudeaumania: Participatory democracy in the mass-mediated nation. Canadian Historical Review. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.msvu.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2e7569a4-6d07-4605-ba6e-d62d4610b781%40sessionmgr198&vid=6&hid=103 MacLeod, J., & Webb, N. (2011). "Imagery" as political action. The international journal of the image, 1(2), Retrieved from http://moodle233.msvu.ca/m23/mod/resource/view.php?id=56918 O'Brien, K. (2014). Notes on POLS 1002 lecture. Personal Collection of K. O'Brien, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax NS.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.
Wilson, J. Bradely Cruxton and W. Douglas. Spotlight Canada Fourth Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Pierre Trudeau is the greatest Canadian of the twentieth century due to the fact that he declared Canada’s independence from Great Britain, he abolished the death penalty, and he created the Official Languages Act, making our nation entirely bilingual.
	Pierre Trudeau will certainly not be forgotten, even after his death. In my opinion he accomplished a lot for Canada but I disliked his crazy ways of politics, to me the way he does things don’t make much sense. Unlike other politicians Pierre Trudeau, had four central themes: the freedom of the individual; the political equality of all individuals; the superiority of rationality; and democracy as the best form of government. What is interesting about these principles is that at various points in his writing Trudeau's value for each one of them compromises and even contradicts his value for one or more of the others. In this way, irony becomes a part of Trudeau's liberalism.
The deficiency of the Canadian electoral system decreases the level of democracy in the Canadian constitution. Canadian citizens are known for being active in political matters; whether it relates to them specifically or not. In fact, “on average, educated, well informed, and interested in politics – all factors associated with high voter turnout.” But if this is the case, why is there a democratic deficit in the Canadian electoral system? The answer is simple: Most elections today rely heavily on media when it comes to national context; which decreases the l...
William Lyon Mackenzie King was one of the greatest prime ministers in Canada, although he did not give a fascinating speech or had an exciting image and supported few radical policies . King’s opinions were very strong and would not be changed no matter what. No one could influence King and this was shown through his leadership during the Great Depression and the election in 1930.
Frist, federalism is the division of power between the provinces and the federal government (Cutler 2010, 3). As well, Federal systems tend to be made up of multiple parts, which do not necessarily work together (Brock 2008, 3). There has been an increase on the study of federalism in recent years, which has created a more in-depth look at how federalism impacts the government. (Farfard Rocher 2009, 294). There are two aspects of federalism and both of them put limitations on the influence of the prime minister. The first is called political asymmetry; this encompasses the various attitudes of the different provinces such as the culture, economic, social and political conditions and how it shapes the relationship between the provincial and federal governments (Brock 2008, 4). This can create a problem for the federal government because it means that they may ha...
This paper will prove how regionalism is a prominent feature of Canadian life, and affects the legislative institutions, especially the Senate, electoral system, and party system as well as the agendas of the political parties the most. This paper will examine the influence of regionalism on Canada’s legislative institutions and agendas of political part...
May, E. (2009). Losing Confidence: Power, politics, and the crisis in Canadian democracy. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
The culture of Canada refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that are a representative of Canada and Canadians throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity, television and migration between the two countries. Overtime, Canadian-American relations have helped develop Canada’s identity during the years 1945-1982; thus introducing changing social norms , media and entertainment. In support of this, due to the United States being approximately 9.25 times larger in population and having the dominant cultural and economic influence it played a vital role in establishing Canada’s identity. With Canada being its neighbour, naturally, the United States would influence their way of life upon Canada. In other words,
Canada’s parliamentary system is designed to preclude the formation of absolute power. Critics and followers of Canadian politics argue that the Prime Minister of Canada stands alone from the rest of the government. The powers vested in the prime minister, along with the persistent media attention given to the position, reinforce the Prime Minister of Canada’s superior role both in the House of Commons and in the public. The result has led to concerns regarding the power of the prime minister. Hugh Mellon argues that the prime minister of Canada is indeed too powerful. Mellon refers to the prime minister’s control over Canada a prime-ministerial government, where the prime minister encounters few constraints on the usage of his powers. Contrary to Mellon’s view, Paul Barker disagrees with the idea of a prime-ministerial government in Canada. Both perspectives bring up solid points, but the idea of a prime-ministerial government leading to too much power in the hands of the prime minister is an exaggeration. Canada is a country that is too large and complex to be dominated by a single individual. The reality is, the Prime Minister of Canada has limitations from several venues. The Canadian Prime Minister is restricted internally by his other ministers, externally by the other levels of government, the media and globalization.
The concept of power from the standpoint of cultural studies and in particular this course
Power refers to the possession of authority and influence over others. Max Weber defined power as “the probability that one actor in a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her will despite resistance , regardless of the basis on which this probability rest ” (Seeing politics Differently, 2012). Power has circulated from personal forces like expertise or charm or impersonal ones, such as, positions in an organization. Class and status are very efficient for shaping people capacities to exercise and resist power. The author in the book “ Seeing Politics Differently” is trying to explain to us how power has been distributed and negotiated in our society today through materials, culture , social factor and institutions,
“The term cultural politics refers to the way that culture—including people’s attitudes, opinions, beliefs and perspectives, as well as the media and arts—shapes society and political opinion, and gives rise to social, economic and legal realities”