Political Parties and their ties to Civil Society: Connective Density Among Party Actors in Canada

Consistent with arguments regarding the decline of parties, recent trends, such as declining party membership and waning partisan attachment, have raised concerns regarding the extent to which political parties remain connected to, and rooted in, civil society. Drawing on data from Canada, where parties are often criticized for their limited community roots, the authors examine civil society engagement among a variety of party actors. Analyzing surveys of party members, local party presidents, and general election candidates, as well as candidate biographies from the 2019 federal election, they find that party actors remain deeply embedded in civil society. Their analysis reveals variation not just between these different party actors (i.e., candidates are more embedded in civil society than are ordinary members) but also within these different cohorts (i.e., older party members tend to belong to fewer civil society organizations than younger members). Overall, the findings presented here challenge claims of a retreat from civil society and highlight the value of assessing party–civil society linkages at both the organizational and individual levels.