The Carleton University
Political Science Podcast — Let the conversation begin
Season Four
Politics is about more than just policy and governance — it touches nearly every aspect of our lives. To help you make sense of the political world around us, the Carleton University Political Science Podcast “Academic Talk Current Affairs” features expert analysis on the state of politics and global affairs from the faculty and graduate students.
- October 2022: Mary Coulas On Municipal Politics And Why Local Government Matters
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In just under a week, the near 450 municipalities across the province of Ontario will be holding elections to chart the next four years of local governance. And while municipalities play an important role in the provision and administration of services for Canadians, the structures and institutional dynamics of municipal governments mark a fairly under-defined black box in Canadian political science. While the roles and responsibilities of the provinces and federal government have been thoroughly defined by constitutional documents such as the BNA Act of 1867, and have been subject to countless pages of scholarship, municipalities – as important as they are – have been understudied, under-discussed and largely ignored by scholars. Which is strange to say the least, because local politics matters. From global concerns of development, commerce and the environment, to some of the most important domestic issues in Canada, such as housing and the cost of living, local governments play an important role in the lives of Canadians; arguably to an even greater degree than their federal and provincial counterparts.
Why have municipalities been largely ignored by Canadian political scientists? How have local governments grown from mere ‘tools of the provinces’ to an important area of government in their own right? And why should you be paying attention to the politics of municipalities? To discuss these issues and more we spoke with Mary Coulas. Mary is a PhD candidate with Carleton’s Department of Political Science specializing in public administration and Canadian food policy. But perhaps more importantly to our conversation, Mary is also presently running a municipal campaign in anticipation of the 2022 Ontario municipal elections happening on October 24th, as a candidate for the Ennismore ward of Sewlyn Township in Peterborough county.
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