Municipal political parties
The Quebec municipal political scene is experiencing a rapid increase in the number of political parties in cities of all sizes. This article analyzes the effects of the presence of political municipal parties on the conquest and exercise of municipal power. Our research is motivated by the presumption that the onset of this proliferation is part of a “Westminsterization” process of municipal politics, that is to say, a polarization between a government and its opposition in municipal politics. In order to explore this hypothesis, we analyze Quebec political municipal parties from three angles that have been identified in literature on their national counterparts, namely, their role of organization, the electoral machine, and representation and governance. Our analysis shows that Quebec municipal political parties resemble their provincial and federal counterparts in many respects. They recruit candidates with the aim to get them elected. Moreover, through the intermediary of their elected government officials, they take part in decision-making, and even in structuring the decision-making process. Nevertheless, Quebec municipal parties have not yet become fully assimilated to provincial and federal parties to the extent that they exhibit a lower degree of formalization, manifested, among others, in a looser control over their staff and crew, a more pronounced role of the chief candidate for the position of mayor, and less assurance of the longevity of partisan organizations.