Series 13 - Research on Canadian Federal Politics

4.0 m of textual records

Through nearly three decades, Clarkson consistently researched various aspect of Canadian federal politics with a particular interest for the Liberal Party of Canada. Much of this research resulted in papers and contributions to books. Content in this series includes notes, data, as well as related correspondence, conferences, workshops, papers, student essays, articles, talks and clippings. It is arranged by political event as follows:

• 1974 Federal Election - consists of Stephen Clarkson’s research material and notes on the 1974 federal election. Research material mostly consists of newscast monitoring tables and media reports. Also included are newspaper clippings and correspondence relating to the newscast monitoring pilot study, as well as drafts and correspondence relating to The Jockey and the Horse, a chapter that Clarkson wrote for Howard R. Penniman’s Canada at the Polls: The General Election of 1974 (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1975) on the Liberal Party and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. [B2016-0003/058]

• 1979 Federal Election - consists of Stephen Clarkson’s notes and research material on the 1979 federal election. It includes notes, research material, drafts and correspondence that relate to a chapter in Howard R. Penniman’s Canada at the Polls, 1979-1980. A Study of the General Elections (American Enterprise Institute, 1981). There are also notes and research material from Christina McCall, most likely related to work done on Trudeau and Our Times as well as from party insider Lorna Marsden relating to Library policies. [B2016-0003/059]

• 1979 Interregnum - consists of Stephen Clarkson’s notes and research material on the 1979 interregnum when the Liberal Party lost power to the Progressive Conservatives minority. [B2016-0003/059]

• 1980 Federal Election - consists of Clarkson’s notes and research material on the 1980 federal election including clippings and notes on press coverage [B2016-0003/059, /065]

• 1984 Federal Election - consists of Clarkson’s notes and research materials, drafts and correspondence that relate to a chapter on John Turner and the Liberal Party’s succession crisis that Clarkson wrote for Howard R. Penniman’s Canada at the Polls, 1984: A Study of the Federal General Elections (Duke University Press, 1988). Also includes notes and research material from Christina McCall, student papers, newspaper clippings, correspondence, press analysis and printed material relating to the 1984 federal election. [B2016-0003/060]

• 1984 Liberal Leadership Campaign – Notes and research material cover a number of topics connected with the 1984 Liberal leadership campaign, including John Turner’s resignation. Notes and research material from Christina McCall, student papers, newspaper clippings, correspondence, press analysis and printed material relating to the 1984 Liberal leadership campaign are also included, as well as files on each candidate. [B2016-0003/060, /061]

• 1988 Federal Election - Notes and research material cover a number of topics connected with the 1988 federal election. Notes and research material from Christina McCall and student papers, a large number of newspaper clippings, correspondence, press analysis and printed material relating to the 1988 federal election are also included, as well as files on a number of candidates. [B2016-0003/061]

• 1990s Liberals - consists of notes and research material that cover a number of topics connected with the LPC in the 1990s, including the annual Policy Convention and the party’s leadership. Newspaper clippings, correspondence and printed material are included as well as research material and notes from Christina McCall. [B2016-0003/054]

• Chretien 1990 - consists of research material and notes on Jean Chretien and his leadership in 1990. [B2016-0003/054]

• Liberal Party of Canada 1993 Policy Documents - consists of research material and notes on the LPC’s policies around 1993. Newspaper clippings and printed material are included. [B2016-0003/054]

• 1993 Federal Election - consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence and printed material relating to 1993 Liberal platform, campaign and policies. There is also research material and notes from Christina McCall. Notes relating to interviews given to CBC by Stephen Clarkson and Christina McCall, as well as drafts for Clarkson’s book chapter “Yesterday’s Man and his Blue Grits: Backward into the Future” in the edited book The Canadian General Election of 1993 (Carleton University Press, 1994). [B2016-0003/054]

• Canadian Politics 1993-1997 - consists of research material and notes on Canadian politics between 1993 and 1997. Specifically, records relate to three research topics: the Canadian right, the Liberal Party of Canada and Chretien. Records relating to the Canadian right include newspaper clippings and notes about the 1995 referendum, as well as notes about the referendum taken by Christina McCall at a conference held at York University’s Robarts Centre for Canadian studies on March 2-3, 1995. Records relating to the LPC and Chretien in opposition include notes, newspapers clippings, and a copy of an article about Chretien’s legacy in managing Canadian-American relations co-written by Clarkson and Erick Lachapelle that was submitted (and subsequently published) in 2005 to Canadian Foreign Policy (12(2) : 65-82). Other records relating to Chretien include notes about the Chretien government’s first year and Chretien’s liberalism, as well as newspaper clippings describing Chretien’s tightening of lobbying rules. Newspaper clippings and notes from Christina McCall relating to liberalism in the 1990s, a research trip from 1994, and the 1997 federal election are also included. [B2016-0003/096]

• 1997 Federal Election - consists of research material and notes relating to the 1997 federal election including newspaper clippings, student essays and realted correspondence. Also included are documents and clippings relating to the Liberal Party of Canada platform as well as and research material, notes, correspondence and drafts relating to a chapter on the Liberal Party of Canada campaign in the 1997 federal election that Clarkson wrote for The General Election of 1997 (Dundurn Press, 1997), a book edited by Jon H. Pammett. [B2016-0003/055]

• 2000 Federal Election - Records in this subseries include notes on candidates, student essays, newspaper clippings (including numerous clippings about the Liberal Party of Canada between 1996 and 2000), printed material on the Liberal Party of Canada, and notes and analysis relating to the Globe and Mail coverage of the 2000 federal election between October and December 2000. [B2016-0003/055, /056]

• 2004 Federal Election - Records include notes on media coverage, correspondence, student papers and notes relating to the course POL397 taught by Clarkson, as well as a draft, notes, and student papers which Clarkson used to write “Disaster and Recovery: Paul Martin as Political Lazarus”, a chapter on the Liberal Party of Canada’s organization, finance, policy, platform, leadership and regionalism published in Jon H. Pammett’s The Canadian Federal Election of 2004 (Dundurn, 2004). Also included are printed material on the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada policies; a copy of a speech given by Paul Martin at the Air Canada Centre in November 2003 and notes relating to it; research material on Jean Chretien’s legacy; copies of chapters from an untitled book on Chretien’s legacy; a draft for the book The Joy of Winning, which will eventually be published by UBC Press under the title The Big Red Machine (2005); and a comment written by Clarkson on John Manley, Paul Martin and the liberals’ democratic deficit, published in the Globe and Mail on July 25, 2003. Records also include drafts and correspondence relating to two articles written by Clarkson and Erik Lachapelle, “Jean Chretien’s Legacy in Canadian-American Relations”, published in the Journal of Canadian Studies, and “Jean Chretien’s Continental Legacy; from Commitment to Confusion”, published in the Review of Constitutional Studies/Revue d’études constitutionnelles, for a special issue on the Chretien Legacy (2003). [B2016-0003/056, /057]

• 2008 Federal Election - consists of research material and notes relating to the 2008 federal election. [B2016-0003/057]

• Liberal Hegemony - Records include: research notes; a copy of “The Liberal Party Conundrum: A Multi-System Party in the Multi-Party System”, an article written by Clarkson and his former student Vivek Krishnamurthy which was eventually included in the Big Red Machine (UBC Press, 2006); notes and a copy of “Explaining Liberal Hegemony in Federal Politic”, a presentation given by Clarkson and Rachael Gibson at the Canadian Political Science Association 2006 Annual Meeting (Canadian Politics Section); and correspondence with Bronwyn Drainie, editor of the Literary Review of Canada, relating to a possible article. [B2016-0003/057]

• Ignatieff - consists of research material and notes relating to former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff. Records in this subseries include newspaper clippings and notes, a student paper from POL399 on Ignatieff’s campaign for the 2006 federal election, and an article from November 2006 on the Liberal Party of Canada leadership written by Clarkson for La Presse. [B2016-0003/057]

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File list available in PDF finding aid - see Appendix 17