Code Politics: Campaigns and Cultures on the Canadian Prairies

Politics on the Canadian Prairies are puzzling. The provinces share a common landscape and history, but they have nurtured three distinct political cultures - Alberta is Canada’s bastion of conservatism, Saskatchewan its cradle of social democracy, and Manitoba its progressive centre. The roots of these cultures run deep and have sparked comment and debate, yet their persistence over a century of change has yet to be explained.

In Code Politics, Jared Wesley draws on over eight hundred pieces of campaign literature to reveal that the region’s dominant political parties have used one key device - rhetoric - to foster and carry forward their province’s cultural values or political code. Social Credit and Progressive Conservative leaders in Alberta emphasized freedom over security, whereas New Democrats in Saskatchewan turned that message on its head. Successful politicians in Manitoba, by contrast, steered a middle course, underscoring the importance of moderation in their campaign platforms. From William Aberhart to Tommy Douglas to Gary Doer, party leaders have employed distinct codes in their campaign discourse to shape their province’s political landscapes.

By treating election campaigns as rituals that allow political leaders to renew their community’s core values, this groundbreaking study provides the key to solving the so-called Prairie paradox.

Jared J. Wesley is an associate director of intergovernmental and international affairs for the Government of Alberta.