When a snap election was called in August, Canadians had a little over a month to prepare for a federal election and digest the platforms put forward by the political parties vying for their votes.

Each party focused on what they thought would get them the most seats in the House. The New Democrats talked about affordability writ large, the Conservatives prioritized financial well-being, the Bloc put Quebec’s interests first, the Greens focused on environmental sustainability and the Liberals promised a suite of measures to help stop COVID in its tracks.

Months of intense planning goes into every election campaign. So how are these platforms conceived and developed in the first place? Who decides what makes the final cut? And what happens when something goes wrong?

An insider's look at creating political platforms - In Their Words 08

Le gouvernement fédéral a dévoilé le 29 mars son plan très attendu de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Le plan détaille entre autres comment le Canada prévoit atteindre son objectif de générer 40 % moins de GES en 2030 par rapport à 2005.

Pour parler de ce projet complexe et certainement ambitieux, le directeur du Centre d’excellence sur la fédération canadienne de l’IRPP Charles Breton s’est entretenu avec celui qui aura la mission d’en assurer la mise en œuvre, le ministre de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique M. Steven Guilbeault.

PO Podcast 143 - Le plan pour un air pur et une économie forte

Gerald Stanley and the castle narrative, a Policy Options podcast. A complex narrative has emerged in defence of Gerald Stanley, who was recently acquitted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Colten Boushie, a 22 year-old Cree man, in Saskatchewan. According to this narrative, the incident had nothing to do with race, but was rather a matter of a farmer protecting his land and family – defending "his castle."

Gina Starblanket joined the podcast to explain how this perspective is intimately tied to the history of displacement and settlement on the Prairies, and throughout Canada. Starblanket is a professor in the native studies and women’s and gender studies departments at the University of Manitoba. She is Cree/Saulteaux and a member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation in Treaty 4 territory in Saskatchewan.

Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Read Gina Starblanket’s op-ed "How the death of Colten Boushie became recast as the story of a knight protecting his castle. "

Read the Policy Options article “The real ‘justice’ denied to Boushie.“

PO Podcast 51 - Gerald Stanley and the castle narrative

Policy Options is a digital magazine published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) in Montreal, Quebec. It features daily articles on issues of public policy by contributors from academia, research institutions, the political world, the public service and the non-profit and private sectors. We’re committed to introducing our listeners to a diversity of viewpoints on the important public policy challenges of our time.  

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PO Podcast 51 - Gerald Stanley and the castle narrative

Policy Options Podcast

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