Political Marketing in the 2021 Canadian Federal Election

This book offers a fresh take on the dynamics of the 2021 Canadian federal election by focusing on elements pertinent to political marketing and branding rather than just the horse race and campaign dynamics. Chapters by leading and emerging political marketing academics from different disciplines, including communications, political science and political management, are included as well as contributions from practitioners in different fields related to political marketing such as pollsters. Some chapters are collaborations between leading academics and practitioners, which provide new insights into the dynamics of political marketing that enrich this edited volume. The book’s content takes our current understandings of Canadian political marketing in new directions. Contents 6 List of Contributors 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 1 Introduction: The 2021 Canadian Federal Election 13 References 19 2 Political Branding in a Crisis and the Shifting Strategies of the Trudeau 2021 Campaign 21 Introduction 22 Literature, Theoretical Framework and Methodology 22 The Liberal and Trudeau Branding in the 2021 Election Campaign 23 The Canadian Liberal Party’s 2021 Brand: Safety First 24 Leaders Brand Personality 24 Government Brand Effectiveness 26 Policy Branding 29 Rebranding 30 Voter Perceptions of the Political Brand 30 Conclusion: Reflections on the 2021 Brand and Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis 31 References 33 3 Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: Branding Challenges in the 2021 Conservative Party Campaign 36 Introduction 37 Haphazard Brand Restructuring 40 Brand Limitations 43 The O’Toole Rebrand Fallout 44 Branding Populism and Extremism 46 References 48 4 The Hyper–Masculine Campaign: Party Leader Brand Image, Heteronormativity and the 2021 Canadian Federal Election 51 Overview 52 Identity Marketing and Party Leader Brand Image 56 The Appeal of Hyper–Masculinity in Politics 59 “The Man with a Plan” 62 Emphasizing Masculinity Attributes: Tough and Ready to Fight 62 Conclusion 74 References 75 5 Le Bloc Québécois: A Niche Party 83 The Theme of the Campaign: “QUÉBÉCOIS” 86 The BQ Election Platform and the Battle of the Suburbs 87 Tie in with François Legault’s Ten (10) Demands 92 François Legault's Support for the Conservative Party 93 The Return of Identity Issues: The Televised Debate in English 94 Conclusion 96 References 97 6 The People’s Party of Canada and the Appeal of Anger Politics 100 Protest and Anger in Politics: A Review 102 The People’s Party in Context 109 Analysis 111 Profiling People’s Party of Canada Supporting 112 What People’s Party of Canada Supporters Think 113 Conclusion 115 References 119 7 The Neglected Populists: Breaking Down the Performance of the Left-Leaning New Democratic Party in the 2021 Canadian Federal Election 121 A Worldwide Phenomenon: What We Know About the Recent Rise of Populism 126 The NUPES Experiment as a Potential Framework 131 Left-Wing Populists and the 2021 Canadian Federal Election 132 What’s Next? 135 References 137 8 Identity Marketing During the 2021 Canadian Federal Election 141 Introduction 142 Methods 147 Results 148 Leveraging Community 150 Leveraging Immigration 151 Downplaying Immigration 153 Motivated to Run 156 Downplaying Race 157 Conclusion 158 References 159 9 Conclusion: The Calm Before the Storm 162 References 167 Index 168