The Relevance of Political Cleavages

In Canada, we tend to be less involved in the political world and because of this very little conflict arises. In the United States, politics is a heavily debated issue that is influenced by a number of factors outside the trade including, as most recently documented in the 2008 election, race. This results in a number of conflicts arising from the political world which often highlight a number of political cleavages. The above picture was taken outside of a supposed "Christian" church in the U.S. and sheds new light on the classic "Church vs. State" debate that has long dominated American politics. In Canada, our government has typically stayed well clear of religion while generally accepting all that exist and creating policies that have minimal interference on religious beliefs.

Thus, the "Church vs. State" cleavage may not be the most evident in Canadian politics. Personally, I feel that two of the most relevant cleavages in Canada are the core vs. periphery cleavage and the material vs. post-material cleavage. In the core/periphery cleavage, there is a substantial distance between the centre of decision making as opposed to outlying areas. A current example would be the relationship between the Ottawa (the core) and Western Canada (periphery). Provinces such as British Columbia have always felt isolated from the decision-making process in Ottawa since their formation in 1858. This cleavage has lead to the formation of the British Colombian identity that we know today. A similar argument can be made for Eastern Canada.

The material vs. post-material cleavage is a conflict between economic concerns and other quality of life concerns. In the past 10-20 years, issues such as the environment and health care have become front-of-house issues in Canadian politics. These are post-materialist issues as they deal with our quality of life moving forward. Perhaps more recently due to the recession, we have seen a turn back towards material values to address our econmic concerns. The Conservative's "Action Plan" is a great example of this. While some post-materialst ideals were considered, the primary focus of the plan was to stimulate the economy and create jobs.( Jobs. JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS. This is probably the word of the year. If I here another sound-bite with Obama talking about jobs I might lose it.)

In my opinion, the most evident political cleavage facing Canadians and Canadian political parties is the material vs. post-material cleavage. How can we move foward ensuring our stable economic growth while continuing our growth in post-materialist areas such as the environment? Well, for example, the call for jobs has changed from any old job to "green jobs" that help to "stimulate the economy and create a healthier enviroment for our future." Many politicians believe that a balance is the way to move forward in the next few years. Until our economy has "fully recovered," I agree with this thinking. I would not be surprised if, within the next 3-5 years, the focus returns to the core/periphery cleavage as our material and post-material demands are continually being met.