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June 1, 2022: Centre to Host the Money and Local Democracy Project
Urban Centre will host the Money and Local Democracy Project
The Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance will host the Money and Local Democracy Project / Projet sur l’argent et la démocratie locale, a five-year project investigating municipal campaign finance regulation and local election campaigning. Funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant following pilot work funded by Western Faculty of Social Science research seed grants, the project is led by Western Political Science Professors Zack Taylor and Martin Horak; Sandra Breux at l'Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Montréal; and Kristin Good at Dalhousie University. This mixed-methods project will entail the largest survey of election candidates ever conducted in Canada – over 4,000 candidates in 183 municipalities in all 10 provinces, which are home to four out of five Canadians – as well as analysis of candidates' campaign finance disclosures over three election cycles and in-depth interviews with former candidates and campaign managers. The project will contribute new insights, both nationally and internationally, into whether differently configured campaign finance regimes create more competitive elections, how local candidates campaign, and enduring questions regarding the influence of money in politics.