3. Political Discontent, Human Capital, and Representative Governance in Canada

Political trust in North America

“…2. Two other questions from the CES (whether politicians are honest; whether government wastes a lot of tax money) both follow the same downward trend (Kanji, 2002). 3.…”

“…Despite these cross-national differences, Canadians' political trust has followed the same downward trend over the past half-century (Kanji, 2002). Conservative Party reflected the public's unprecedented rejection of the status quo in Ottawa, a weak economy, the struggle between nationalism and provincialism, and a backlash to the introduction of the VAT.…”

“…Experts worried that if distrust generalized to the institutions and procedures of a political system, it might erode the foundations of democracy. For example, Neil Nevitte and Mebs Kanji (2002) warned that 'the worry is that dissatisfaction with particular governments might turn into dissatisfaction with the workings of democracy more generally'. So I next ask whether distrust of political elites has spread to attitudes toward the institutions and structure of government.…”

“…Canada has followed a similar downward trajectory despite its different political history and social circumstances (Kanji, 2002). A variety of indicators from the Canadian Election Study (CES) track a decline in political trust since the 1960s.…”

Strategically natural: nature, social trust and risk regulation of genetically modified foods and natural health products in Canada

“…But support for the community and for democratic principles remains overwhelming.... We have seen the growth of more critical citizens who value democracy as an ideal, yet remain dissatisfied with the performance of their political system and particularly the institutions of representative government (Norris, 1999: 27). Nevitte (2002) argues that increasing affluence and education, and a related shift in workplace capabilities, have produced a more capable and confident citizenry that is increasingly critical and demanding of government (Nevitte, 2000;Kanji, 2002). Greater education and competence give people a sense of empowerment, enhanced by the increased availability of information and its easy electronic accessibility.…”