Student Worksheet

Note: The information used in this lesson is no longer being updated.

Section A

1. Retrieve data on the 1997 Federal General Election from E-STAT using the following instructions:

   At the E-STAT Table of Contents, select Data, then select 1997: Provinces and terrritories under the heading Elections Canada. At the Profile Selection, select Number of Valid Votes, by Political Affiliation. For the Geography, select 1997 — Canada, by Province and Territory. Select the appropriate affiliation from the list of characteristics below:

   • Bloc Québécois
   • Canadian Action Party
   • Christian Heritage Party of Canada
   • Liberal Party of Canada
   • Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
   • Natural Law Party of Canada
   • New Democratic Party
   • Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
   • Reform Party of Canada
   • The Green Party of Canada
   • Independent
   • No Affiliation
   • Total

2. Complete the table below for your assigned province.

1. As a group, prepare an oral presentation on the political affiliation of voters and the percentages of voters by province. (Note: your presentation must include visual aids; i.e., charts, graphs, etc.).
   
   
2. Create a graph using E-STAT.

Section B

Be prepared to answer these questions.

1. According to the table which party won the election? Who came second, third and fourth?
2. How does this compare to the official results? (Hint: see Statistics from 1997 Federal General Election table).
3. What are the main political parties in each region?
4. Are there regional patterns to political affiliations?

Section C

1. Choose and research a political party. You are this party’s campaign manager for an upcoming election. Write a 2–to–3–page paper outlining your party’s platform and your election strategy. Your primary goal will be to increase the number of valid votes your party receives in one region of the country. Identify the region and platform of the competition. Explain why the region was chosen. Discuss whether you would run male or female candidates.

   You may use E-STAT and other research materials such as the Internet, books, newspapers and local MPs.