Conclusion: Anyone can run for office
Anyone can run for political office in Canada.
To our surprise, the majority of the MPs we interviewed did not grow up in political families, and few had long-standing political party involvement. Most weren’t lawyers and hadn’t studied political science. The backgrounds, family histories, cultures, levels of education and careers represented by this group of MPs were amazingly varied, and did not always point to a career in politics. Most chose to spend a large portion of their lives working outside of the political sphere. They were not the consummate insiders we expected.
In fact, these MPs considered themselves outsiders, even though they didn’t directly use that word. Whether because of personal identity, experience, region or particular political views, the MPs who participated in this project strongly felt that their communities were not being adequately represented in Parliament. They measured the status quo and found it lacking. This outsider sentiment stood in stark contrast to the MPs' strong community connections and experiences.
Another surprise was the series of apparently random occurrences that surrounded the transition from individual citizen to political leader. No matter the political ambition, a person was usually asked to run by an acquaintance or community group. This is an interesting feature inherent in the system, ensuring that the representative of a political party normally cannot entirely self-select for public office. It also means that our democratic system has the capacity to be as vibrant, as varied, and as accessible as the citizens of any given community – as long as those citizens know how it works. Anyone can be asked to run, and anyone can do the asking.
Still, if the process by which a person makes the transition to federal politics can seem accidental, then the process by which they win the support of their local riding can be confusing, mysterious and inconsistent. Most MPs expressed frustration when discussing the nomination. Because this process is not transparent, the inner workings are subject to manipulation by riding associations, the national leadership of the party, as well as local groups. Many complained or questioned this process, which is surprising considering these were the people who had navigated it successfully. When the winner of a race complains about the rules of the competition, it may bear closer scrutiny.
There are a number of observations to draw from this portrait of the accidental citizen. On the one hand, people who have little experience in politics or who weren’t raised on politics as kids can become MPs. We have no established “political class.” You don’t need to be a millionaire or have attended certain schools. But on the other hand, people come to political leadership in ways that seem quite accidental and not as a result of long planning and preparation. Or if they did prepare, political ambition is something that they tended to explain away, as if it’s somehow not acceptable to admit to it. Perhaps, in our political culture, it is desirable to be an outsider, or at least to be seen as one.
We hope that this report will be a basis for further discussion and will contribute to a greater understanding of political leadership in Canada. The exit interview project stems from the premise that the system is robust and elastic, but only to the extent that the wider citizenry understands how it works and is willing to engage with it. Maybe, with time, the project will draw attention to those things that function well in our public life, as well as contribute to a constructive discourse on what can be improved. For example, we hope this will create discussion on how one can get involved in politics, how one can become a Parliamentarian and how certain parts of the process, such as the nomination, can be made more transparent. We also hope that this discussion will be a stepping stone for our future reports, which will elaborate on further areas of our interviews beginning in the fall of 2010.