Rethinking policy capacity in Canada: The role of parties and election platforms in government policy‐making

Abstract: There is an ongoing debate in western industrialized democracies about the genesis of government policy capacity. This article examines this under‐explored issue by looking at the election campaign commitments made by political parties. The author reviews the election policy manifestos of the parties that governed in Canada from 1984 to 2008, some of the proposed policy changes advanced during election campaigns, and the actions taken …