Dylan Gruspier

Project Description:

Scholars have identified the lack of racialized politicians in Canada’s political parties, specifying that their exclusion shapes the lack of racialized voices in the federal legislature. In the past decade, as the representation from these groups is slowly increasing, the question emerges whether this representation is shifting parliamentary and legislative debates. Some scholars have argued that the presence of racialized politicians guarantee that policy matters important to racialized groups will be prioritized and move in more socially just directions. However, recent scholarship in critical race and socio-legal studies have suggested that the incorporation of select racialized elites has not substantively challenged political discourses and/or policies.  Drawing upon critical race, political, and socio-legal studies, this project investigates the following research questions: (1) How do racialized MPs contribute to parliamentary activities and engage in legislative and policy debates; (2) What has been the impact of these statements/arguments on legislative and policy debates; (3) How do political leaders and other politicians deploy these statements/arguments to reinforce dominant discourses; (4) To what extent do the contributions of racialized MPs affiliated with the Liberal Party (LPC), the Conservative Party (CPC), and the New Democratic Party (NDP) differ from one another?

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