A Comparative Analysis of Political Finance Regulation in the Maritime Provinces
Abstract
Money is crucial to the functioning of democracy and is often used as a tool to influence the political process. However, concerns about real or perceived corruption has led many jurisdictions to regulate political finances. Politics in the Maritime Provinces have long been notorious for corrupt practices. Yet, political finance regimes have existed in these provinces for several decades. Using historical and political contexts and three benchmarks for political finance regulation—equality of opportunity for political actors, equality of opportunity for private actors, and mitigation of corruption—the effectiveness of the regimes in the Maritime provinces is assessed. Differing experiences with internal and external pressures for reform have led to varying results. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, internal pressures due to shifting attitudes toward equality led to more comprehensive and effective regimes than that of PEI, which was spurred by external forces through a contagion effect.
Description
Keywords
Political Science
Citation
Johnson, A. E. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of Political Finance Regulation in the Maritime Provinces (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24664