Searching for Persons with Disabilities in Canadian Provincial Office

Abstract

This exploratory study examines the electoral experience of persons with disabilities with a particular focus on those that have sought provincial political office in Canada for the last three provincial elections in every province. It also gauges the accessibility of the environment into which they were entering when deciding to seek political office: political parties (recruitment efforts, campaign finance provisions, disability specific language in party constitutions) and the provincial electoral management bodies (campaign financing laws). If the incremental nature of disability policy changes has long been “not good enough” with minimal gains won through long drawn out processes (Levesque and Graefe, 2014), what then is to be made of the gains made to date? For persons with disabilities, this is important given their late enfranchisement (Davidson and Lapp, 2004). In its wake, a small but growing literature has emerged that examines accessibility issues related to the voting experience (Prince, 2004, 2012) while an even smaller literature exists that examines persons with disabilities seeking political office in Canada (e.g., D’Aubin and Stienstra, 2004). The work thus far largely focuses on barriers to inclusion and on federal electoral participation. Missing in this literature is a provincial assessment of persons with disabilities that have sought elected office, as well as the mechanisms used by political parties to encourage potential candidates with disabilities to seek office. The story that emerges is one of largely non-participation which underscores the work needed to attract candidates with disabilities to seek political office to aid in the construction and reconstruction of the Canadian nation.