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Understanding the Influence of Faith-Based Organizations on Education Policy in Alberta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2016

Clark Banack
Clark Banack*
Affiliation:
York University
*
Department of Political Science, York University, S663 Ross Building, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Email: clbanack@yorku.ca
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Abstract

Recent media accounts suggest certain faith-based interest groups are increasingly pressuring provincial governments across Canada to ensure their views on education policy are acted upon. This paper offers a qualitative assessment of the policy influence possessed by faith-based groups active on the education file in Alberta and the factors responsible for this level of influence. Overall, such influence is not directly attributable to the group's size or resources nor can it be explained by the assumption that Alberta is overrun with religious citizens demanding socially conservative policies. Rather, the explanation is found in a more nuanced appreciation of the self-interested electoral calculations made by the long-governing Progressive Conservative party, on the one hand, as well as well as the party's long-running commitment to “school choice” on the other. This sentiment is intimately related to both the province's populist political culture as well as a broader ideological convergence around the principle of “free choice” in general, and the benefits of marketization in particular.

Résumé

De récents rapports des médias suggèrent que certains groupes confessionnels augmentent leur pression auprès des gouvernements provinciaux partout au Canada afin de s'assurer que ceux-ci agissent conformément à leurs opinions en matière de politique d'éducation. Ce document offre une évaluation qualitative de l'influence qu'exercent sur les politiques les groupes confessionnels actifs dans le dossier de l'éducation en Alberta et les facteurs responsables de ce niveau d'influence. En général, une telle influence n'est pas directement attribuable à la taille du groupe ou à ses ressources ni ne peut être expliquée par l'hypothèse qui veut que l'Alberta soit débordée par les demandes des citoyens religieux voulant des politiques conservatrices. L'explication se trouve plutôt dans une appréciation plus nuancée des calculs électoraux intéressés effectués par le Parti progressiste-conservateur au pouvoir depuis longtemps, d'une part, et par l'engagement de longue date du parti envers le « choix scolaire », d'autre part. Ce sentiment est intimement lié autant à la culture politique populiste de la province qu'à une convergence idéologique plus large autour du principe du « libre choix » en général, et des avantages de la marchéisation en particulier.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 48 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 933 - 959
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2016 

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