The Political Foundations of Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Canada

Abstract

Abstract.Public support for legal recognition of same-sex marriage increased markedly in Canada over the course of the 1990s. The argument of this paper is that a sequence of Supreme Court decisions in the realm of same-sex relationship recognition—and the legislative activity that followed as a result—played a pivotal role in shaping public opinion on this issue. It is argued that the impact of these institutions was twofold. First, by framing the issue as one of equal rights, the courts and legislatures induced many Canadians to weigh equality-related considerations more heavily in the formation of opinions on same-sex marriage. Second, legal recognition of same-sex relationships directly persuaded many Canadians that such recognition was legitimate. The paper uses data from the Canadian Election Studies for 1993, 1997 and 2000.Résumé.Durant les années 1990 le soutien populaire aux mariages entre conjoints de même sexe s'est clairement renforcé. La thèse principale de cet article avance qu'une série de décisions de la Cour suprême portant sur les relations entre conjoints de même sexe, de même que les décisions adoptées par les pouvoirs législatifs en réponse à ces jugements, jouèrent un rôle crucial dans la formation de l'opinion publique sur ces questions. D'abord, en formulant le débat en termes d'égalité devant la loi, les appareils judiciaire et législatif ont amené les Canadiens à accorder plus de poids aux arguments liés à l'égalité dans leurs réflexions sur le sujet. En second lieu, la reconnaissance légale des unions entre conjoints de même sexe a persuadé les Canadiens de la légitimité de cette reconnaissance. Les conclusions de ce texte s'appuient sur les données des éditions d'Étude électorale canadienne de 1993, 1997 et 2000.

Free Votes, MPs, and Constituents: The Case of Same-Sex Marriage in Canada

“…Following Matthews (2005), who found that several demographic variables predicted support for gay marriage among the Canadian public, we examine many of these same characteristics in order to determine whether MPs represent attitudes in the mass public. These variables include the size of the riding measured in squared kilometers (MPs from rural, more traditional ridings will be less likely to support the CMA than MPs from urban ridings), the percentages of native-speaking Francophones (with the expectation that Francophones are more secular than Anglophones, and thus more likely to support the CMA), elderly (those persons 65 years of age and older), affiliated with Christian denominations, married persons in the riding, and a measure of the socioeconomic/educational status of the riding (wealthier ridings are expected to be more progressive on same-sex marriage).…”

Northern Enlightenment: Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage in Canada

“…Although these provincial and territorial legislative reforms played an important part in advancing equality for gay men and lesbians throughout the country, history illustrates that the equality section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (hereafter the Charter) was central in advancing relationship recognition (Elliot & Bonauto, 2005;Fisher, 2004;Matthews, 2005;Smith, 2002). The Charter, which is ingrained in Canada's Constitution, was adopted in 1982 and its equality section came into effect in 1985.…”

“…It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss all of these cases (see Fisher, 2004;MacDougall, 2001;andSmith, 2002, 2008 for more information); however, two of the most important suits are briefly considered. In 1995, in a case concerning access to spousal benefits by samesex partners under the Old Age Act (Egan v. Canada), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that sexual orientation is a protected ground of discrimination under the Charter (Fisher, 2004;Smith, 2002;MacDougall, 2001;Matthews, 2005). This was the first Canadian court decision to do so.…”

Who leads and who lags behind? Women MPs in the Spanish regional parliaments

“…Third, is this rise abrupt or gradual? Awareness on the pace at which women's representation is increasing is needed in order to find the appropriate explanatory factors for this phenomenon: it is well-known that abrupt changes are seldom provoked by social or cultural factors (Evans, Heath and Payne 1999;Matthews 2005), so if a growth in women MPs is sudden, it is likely to be connected to political variables. Finally, we discuss where the regional chambers are heading and if the changes in women's representation might be explained by legislative quotas.…”