The appropriate balance between local autonomy and central control in the nomination process has long been contentious. In recent years, however, the high-profile nominations of Michael Ignatieff, Rob Anders and Robert Sopuck (among others) have suggested that the balance of power is increasingly tilting towards the party brass. There are obvious dangers, not least to the parties themselves, from such an outcome. Ordinary Canadians already have alarmingly few incentives to join political parties. Closing off one of their few remaining avenues of political influence (or permitting it to exist only so long as local members get it “right”) can only serve to hollow out still further our already emaciated political parties. Of course, leaving these matters entirely in the hands of community activists is also not without its pitfalls. As Just One Vote detailed, if Howard Pawley had been able to foresee the train wreck which would result from letting the New Democrats of St. Vital re-nominate Jim Walding in January, 1986, he would likely have refused to sign Jim Walding’s nomination papers.
