Searching for Persons with Disabilities in Canadian Provincial Office

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the electoral experience of persons with disabilities with a particular focus on those that have sought provincial political office in Canada for the last three provincial elections in every province. It also gauges the accessibility of the environment into which they were entering when deciding to seek political office: political parties (recruitment efforts, campaign finance provisions, disability specific language in party constitutions) and the provincial electoral management bodies (campaign financing laws). If the incremental nature of disability policy changes has long been "not good enough" with minimal gains won through long drawn out processes (Levesque and Graefe, 2014), what then is to be made of the gains made to date? For persons with disabilities, this is important given their late enfranchisement (Davidson and Lapp, 2004). In its wake, a small but growing literature has emerged that examines accessibility issues related to the voting experience (Prince, 2004(Prince, , 2012 while an even smaller literature exists that examines persons with disabilities seeking political office in Canada (e.g., D'Aubin and Stienstra, 2004). The work thus far largely focuses on barriers to inclusion and on federal electoral participation. Missing in this literature is a provincial assessment of persons with disabilities that have sought elected office, as well as the mechanisms used by political parties to encourage potential candidates with disabilities to seek office. The story that emerges is one of largely non-participation which underscores the work needed to attract candidates with disabilities to seek political office to aid in the construction and reconstruction of the Canadian nation.

The Role of Disability Groups in the Development and Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

“…As the author of this study stated, this higher voter turnout is likely due to being part of the survey which raised their consciousness on the issue and prompted them to vote (McColl, 2006). Recent work by Levesque (2016) examined the political participation of persons with disabilities in Canadian provincial office. It found that only 1.2 per cent of candidates for the last three provincial elections in each province were persons with disabilities, which is far below the rate of disability in the Canadian adult population at 16 per cent.…”

“…For example, recruitment efforts, party funding mechanisms and disability provisions were lacking in political parties. Campaign finance laws were also found to be in need of revision to address the added costs persons with disabilities face when seeking elected office (Levesque, 2016; for a broader Canadian comparative comparison, see Prince, 2012b).…”

How Do Voters Perceive Disabled Candidates?

“…However, there may be other factors, such as societal stigma, fewer resources, or a lack of role models, which can make it difficult or offputting for disabled people to become involved in political parties and seek nomination as a candidate in the first place (D' Aubin and Stienstra, 2004;Sackey, 2015;Langford and Levesque, 2017;Levesque, 2016). What is more, parties might be hesitant to recruit and select them for various reasons, including prejudice and fear of a backlash at the ballot box.…”

Disability and political representation: Analysing the obstacles to elected office in the UK

“…The rare exceptions include a recent study by Waltz and Schippers (2020) based on interviews with nine disabled politicians from four European countries and Sackey's (2015) study of disability organisations and non-disabled local government officials in Ghana. Moreover, a few studies from Canada have focused on disabled people in elected office, including Langford and Levesque's (2017) analysis of interviews with three disabled candidates and elected office holders in British Columbia; D'Aubin and Stienstra's ( 2004) discussion of disabled candidates and elected politicians; Levesque's (2016) analysis of disabled candidates in provincial elections in Canada; and Michael Prince's (2009) study of disability and the policy-making process.…”