Analyzing the Poverty Reduction Effectiveness of the Canadian Provinces: Do Political Parties Matter?

Authors

Robert D. Weaver, University of Windsor
Nazim Habivov, University of Windsor
Lida Fan, Lakehead University

Keywords

Devolution, poverty reduction effectiveness, political parties, provinces, subnational

Abstract

The implementation of the Canada Health and Social Transfer in 1996 marked a new era for the Canadian welfare state, as greater discretion in the area of social welfare policy and programming was granted to the provinces. In this study, the authors analyzed nationally representative data to determine if the governing provincial parties, characterized by distinct ideological and party platform positions, differed in regards to their poverty reduction effectiveness during 1996-2005. The authors' analysis yielded no differences between the governing provincial parties in terms of their poverty reduction effectiveness. The study's implications for future research, including research on subnational variation in social welfare policy, are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Weaver, Robert D.; Habivov, Nazim; and Fan, Lida (2011) "Analyzing the Poverty Reduction Effectiveness of the Canadian Provinces: Do Political Parties Matter?," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 38: Iss. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3586
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol38/iss1/6