Research Tips
This page lists selected resources that provide information about Canadian politics. UBC Library also maintains a guide to finding information produced by the Government of Canada. A number of resources specific to researching the province of British Columbia are included below. The Xwi7xwa Library at UBC maintains a series of Research Guides specific to Indigenous Politics and Governance, specifically, see: First Nations & Indigenous Studies and Aboriginal Treaties.
When searching for publications about Canada, it can be helpful to use truncation to search for alternate endings at one time. Searching Canad* (that symbol is an asterisk) will return results for the words: Canada, Canadian and Canadians. Depending on where you are searching, some databases and search engines will only search for exactly what you type, so using truncation is a way to reduce the number of words you need to type.
Finding Articles
The resources below contain a very high proportion of content about Canada.
- British Columbia Periodical Index This link opens in a new windowArticles selectively indexed from major British Columbia magazines.
Use the article indexes listed under the Articles tab, plus these Canadian-focused resources.
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) This link opens in a new windowIncludes journals, magazines, and newspapers published in Canada in the fields of business, current events, education and general reference.
- Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new windowCanadian Newsstream offers the full text of almost 400 Canadian newspapers from Canada's leading publishers, including The Globe and Mail, National Post and the Vancouver Sun.
- Canada Commons This link opens in a new windowFull text of current documents issued by Canadian public policy, health research agencies and think tanks as well as books from over 70 Canadian publishers
Books / and Annual Publications
- Canada by Picasso: The Faces of FederalismFrom the Conference Board of Canada. This collection of essays examines the future of Canadian federalism from the distinct viewpoints of the Conference Board’s first three scholars-in-residence. The authors discuss, among other issues, the perceived fiscal imbalance between various levels of government and options for bringing Quebec into the constitutional family.
- Canadian annual review of politics and public affairsAvailable in print and online. Covers events in parliament, politics, external affairs, the economy, defense, and more. 1902 -
- The Canadian regime: an introduction to parliamentary government in Canada (2016)Introduction to Canadian government. Explains the inner logic of parliamentary government, as well as the underlying rationale for its institutions and processes.
- The Oxford handbook of Canadian politics (2010)A comprehensive overview of the transformation that has occurred in Canadian politics since the country achieved autonomy, examining the institutions and processes of Canadian government and politics at the local, provincial, and federal levels.
- How Ottawa SpendsAnnual review of the federal government’s spending and public policy by the Carleton University School of Public Policy and Administration
- How Ottawa SpendsPrint copies, 1983-2014.
Newspaper Sources
These resources focus on Canadian newspapers. See also UBC Library guide to Newspapers to learn more about addition online and print newspaper sources from and beyond.
- Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new windowCanadian Newsstream offers the full text of almost 400 Canadian newspapers from Canada's leading publishers, including The Globe and Mail, National Post and the Vancouver Sun.
- Proquest Historical Newspapers: The Globe & MailOnline full-page newspaper archive from June 1844 to 2012.
Government Resources - Canada
See also the UBC Library Guide to Government of Canada publications to find information about Hansard, Debates, and more.
- Library of Parliament - Research PublicationsAnalysis of current and emerging key issues, legislation and major public policy topics.
- Historical Debates of the Parliament of CanadaThe portal includes all debates from Parliament 1, Session 1 (1867) until coverage on parl.gc.ca begins (1994). Also known as Hansard.
Government Resources - British Columbia
See also the UBC Library Guide to Government Publications - British Columbia.
- Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaBritish Columbia legislation, Hansard (debates) with index, and more.
Elections
- Canadian Election StudyThe main objective of the CES is to explain what makes people decide to vote, what makes them decide to support a given party or candidate, and why parties gain or lose ground from one election to another. Information from 1965 to current.
Links to data, plus links to papers presented at various scientific meetings, articles and book chapters already published or currently in press, as well as short articles specifically written for newspapers. - Elections CanadaAn independent, non-partisan agency responsible for the conduct of federal elections and referendums. Find official voting results, online publications and articles relating to the electoral process, information on political parties.
- Elections BCFind election results by riding, statistics, information on political parties, electoral maps, and links to related legislation and statutes.
- History of the Federal Electoral Ridings, 1867-2010Electoral history of Canada since Confederation
Party Platforms
The des Libris collection has some platform documents from recent elections. Try searching platform and Canada and [name of party] in advanced search.
The Manifesto Project provides content analysis of "electoral platforms from over 1000 parties from 1945 until today in over 50 countries on five continents". To view the digitized election materials, create a free account , then select DOWNLOAD under CORPUS & DOCUMENTS. Use the menus on the left of the screen to select a country, party, etc.
Use the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to view archived versions of party websites.