Calgary Votes 2021

In this panel, Political Scientists Jack Lucas and Melanee Thomas will share their research on elections and will discuss how their research informs their perspectives on possible outcomes when Calgarians vote on October 18th.

Jack Lucas is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on Canadian municipal democracy, elections, and representation. He is the director of the Canadian Municipal Barometer, an annual survey of Canadian mayors and councillors. He is also a member of the Canadian Municipal Election Study, a large-scale study of municipal voting behaviour in eight large Canadian cities, including Calgary. His research publications include Big City Elections in Canada, a forthcoming book with profiles on high-profile city elections, including Calgary’s 2017 election.

Abstract: Using data from public opinion surveys of Calgarians in 2017, 2018, and 2021, this presentation will provide an overview of the factors that predict Calgarians’ vote choices in mayoral and council elections.

Melanee Thomas is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary. She is also Academic Director, EDI Data Collection and Analysis, Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Her research on the causes and consequences of gender-based political inequality focuses on political attitudes and behavior. Her objectives are to identify how Canadians think about themselves in politics, explain how their thinking is structured by gender, sexism, and racism, with the goal of developing solutions that ameliorate and strengthen our democratic politics. Her work has been published in several academic outlets, including Politics & Gender, Political Behavior, Environmental Politics, and Electoral Studies.

Abstract: This presentation will outline how equity, diversity, and inclusion present themselves in municipal politics. Drawing on the current Calgary municipal election as well as insights from elections at other levels of government, the presentation will address topics such as candidate demographics, policy framing, and anticipated effects of more (less) diversity outcomes on the operation of Calgary City Council.