In the last 50 or so years the number of independent first-time political candidates elected to office in Canada could fit in a car. Five candidates have made it to, albeit a very small portion of political power, without party support. That covers both provincial and federal elections.

As Canadian elections become increasingly presidential affairs, focusing on the personality at the top of the ticket, the quality that seems most necessary in an aspiring MP is fealty to the Party, the leader, the mantra.

The pressures of social media, political parties’ reliance on marketing data, and the 24-hour news cycle all play a part in the clamping down on new or maverick voices.

What is the cost of canceling out the independent voice in our MPs? And how did we get here?

Alex Marland, author of No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics and Whipped: Party Discipline in Canada has interviewed hundreds of politicians trying to answer those questions.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor & Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

Further Reading:

Alex Marland — Acadia University

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