The Democrats and Republicans try to keep them off the ballot. But third-party campaigns can inject new ideas and force major parties to incorporate a wider array of interests.
Members of the Conservative caucus applaud Erin O'Toole after his address to the group during a meeting in Ottawa in June 2021. Beside O'Toole is Candice Bergen, the party’s new interim leader following O'Toole’s ouster.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Regardless of a given leader’s shortcomings, in some instances structural elements may also significantly influence the fate of party leaders in Canada and abroad.
The Green Party’s Paul Manly celebrates after voting results come in for the Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection on May 6, 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The Green Party breakthrough in Prince Edward Island and positive result in British Columbia foreshadows the party’s prospects at the federal level in the fall.
UK politics is no longer a political tango for two, as this party leaders’ debate illustrated.
EPA/Ken McKay/ITV/Rex
Centenary Research Professor, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra; Professor of Political Science, London School of Economics and Political Science