Students

Nicholas Gaudet
University Laval
Department of Political Science
Program: Masters
Supervisor: Yannick Dufresne
Start: 2024
End: 2026
Project
Title: Ethno-Linguistic Voting Patterns: The Case of Francophones in Maritime Canada
This article investigates whether Francophones in the maritime provinces vote as an ethno-linguistic bloc, a question that has persisted for decades and was recently revived by comments from Premier Blaine Higgs in 2020. Considering how the shared experience of Acadian cultural identity might affect the political attitudes of those voters, the analysis explores the potential for voting patterns that favor federal level left-wing parties, particularly the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC). This paper aims to provide empirical insights regarding the widespread claim that Canadian Francophones vote as a bloc for the LPC, a phenomenon that conventional wisdom suggests is particularly relevant in New-Brunswick and across the maritime provinces. An examination of federal election data from 1972 to 2021 reveals robust support for the Liberal Party in ridings with significant French-speaking populations, indicating an ethno-linguistic voting pattern. Such findings are particularly significant in ridings where Francophones constitute the majority. Ultimately, longitudinal trends uncovered in the data suggest that while Francophones do vote as a bloc, their allegiance is primarily toward the Liberal Party rather than a broader leftist alignment, as shown by their propensity to support liberal candidates over other parties after the departures of popular representatives.
Research Interests
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