Picture of David McGrane

David McGrane Ph.D.

Professor

STM Faculty Member in Political Studies

Office
St. Thomas More 221 STM

Research Area(s)

  • Saskatchewan Politics
  • Political Marketing
  • Social Democracy
  • Canadian Political Parties
  • Voters and Canadian Elections
  • The Federal NDP under the Leadership of Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair
  • Political Theory
  • Quebec Politics

About me

Dr. David McGrane was born and raised in Moose Jaw and completed his Ph.D. in political science at Carleton University in Ottawa. He is currently Professor of Political Studies at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan.

His research interests include social democracy, political theory, political marketing, elections, and voter behaviour. He has published almost 40 academic books, journal articles, and book chapters. His latest research is The New NDP: Moderation, Modernization, and Political Marketing (University of British Columbia Press, 2019), which won the Donald Smiley Prize awarded by the Canadian Political Science Association to the best book on Canadian government and politics.   

  Dr. McGrane has been active in his community as a member of the City of Saskatoon's Environmental Advisory Committee, Member of the Board of Directors of the Saskatoon Open Door Society, Chair of the Political Action Committee of the Saskatoon & District Labour Council, and President of the Saskatchewan NDP. He is also a Policy Fellow of the Broadbent Institute as well as being the past president of the Prairie Political Science Association

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Books 

David McGrane, The New NDP: Moderation, Modernization, and Political Marketing, Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2019. Purchase this book from the publisher

David McGrane and Neil Hibbert (Editors), Applied Political Theory and Canadian Politics, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019. Purchase this book from the publisher. 

David McGrane, John Whyte, Roy Romanow, and Russell Isinger (Editors). Back to Blakeney: The Revitalizing the Democratic State, Regina: University of Regina Press, 2019. Purchase this book from the publisher

David McGrane, Remaining Loyal: Social Democracy in Quebec and Saskatchewan, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014. Purchase this book from the publisher. 

David McGrane (Editor), New Directions in Saskatchewan Public Policy, University of Regina Press, 2011. Purchase this book from the publisher.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (Click on article to access it)

David McGrane and Frédérick Guillaume Dufour, “La divergence entre principes et politiques: Le NPD, le nationalisme de reconnaissance et le fédéralisme asymétrique en 2014-2015”, Politique et Sociétés, Volume 39, Number 3, (2020), pp. 161-187.

David McGrane, Tom McIntosh, James Farney, Loleen Berdahl, Gregory Kerr, and Clifton Van Der Liden. “The 2016 Saskatchewan Provincial Election: The Solidification of an Uncompetitive Two-Party Leader-Focused System or Movement to a One-Party Predominant System?”, Canadian Political Science Review, Volume 13, Number 1, (2019), pp. 145-185.

David McGrane and Loleen Berdahl. “Reconceptualizing Canadian Federal Political Culture: Examining Differences between Quebec and the Rest of Canada”, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Volume 50, Issue 1, (2020), pp. 109-134.  

David McGrane and David Desbaillets. “Legislative Experiences, Ideology, and Socio-Demographic Background: The ‘Orange Wave’ New Democratic Party Members of Parliament”, American Review of Canadian Studies, Volume 48, Number 4, (2018),  pp. 387-414.

David McGrane, Loleen Berdahl, and Scott Bell. “Moving Beyond the Urban/Rural Cleavage: Measuring Values and Policy Preferences Across Residential Zones in Canada”, Journal of Urban Affairs, Volume 39, Number 1, (2017), pp. 17-39.

Michael M. Atkinson, Stephen White, Loleen Berdahl, and David McGrane. “Are Canadians Stealth Democrats? An American Idea Comes North”, American Review of Canadian Studies, Volume 46, Number 1, (2016), pp. 55-73.

David McGrane and Loleen Berdahl, "A Social Democratic Province? An Examination of Saskatchewan Public Opinion in 2011-2012," Journal of Canadian Studies, Volume 49, Number 1, (2015), pp. 95-127.

Stephen White, Michael M. Atkinson, Loleen Berdahl, and David McGrane. "Policies towards Aboriginal Peoples: Attitudinal Obstacles and Uphill Battles", Canadian Journal of Political Science, Volume 48, Issue 2, (2015), pp. 281-304.

David McGrane, Loleen Berdahl, and Kirk Clavelle, "Priming the Voter: Assessing the Implications of Economic Perceptions on Evaluations of Leaders and Parties", Canadian Political Science Review, Volume 9, Number 1, (2015), pp. 92-111.

Jason Roy and David McGrane, "Explaining Canadian Provincial Voting Behaviour: Nuance or Parsimony", Canadian Political Science Review, Volume 9, Number 1, (2015), pp. 75-91.

David McGrane and Loleen Berdahl, "Social Unionism, Public Relations, and Support for Unions: A Case Study of Public Opinion in Saskatchewan, Canada", Global Labour Journal, Volume 6, Number 1, (2015), pp. 62-78. 

Loleen Berdahl, Stephen White, David McGrane, and Michael A. Atkinson. "Symbols, Self-Interest, and Labour Policy Attitudes: Evidence from Saskatchewan", Industrial Relations/Relations industrielles, Volume 69, Number 2, (2014), pp. 665-686. 

David McGrane, "Bureaucratic Champions and Unified Childcare Sectors: Neo-liberalism and Inclusive Liberalism in Atlantic Canadian Childcare Systems", International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, Volume 8, Number 1, (2014), pp. 1-20. 

David McGrane, Stephen White, Loleen Berdahl, and Michael A. Atkinson, "Leadership, Partisan Loyalty, and Issue Salience: The 2011 Provincial Election in Saskatchewan", Canadian Political Science Review, Volume 7, Number 1, (2013), pp. 1-12.

David McGrane and Loleen Berdahl, "Small Worlds No More: Reconsidering Provincial Political Cultures in Canada", Regional and Federal Studies, Volume 23, Issue 4, (2013), pp. 479-493. 

David McGrane, "From Liberal Multiculturalism to Civic Republicanism: An Historical Perspective on Multiculturalism in Manitoba and Saskatchewan", Canadian Ethnic Studies, Volume 43, Number 1-2, (2011), pp. 81-108. 

David McGrane, “A Mixed Record: Gender and Saskatchewan Social Democracy”, Journal of Canadian Studies, Volume 42, Number 1, (Winter 2008), pp. 179-203.

David McGrane, “The 2007 Provincial Election in Saskatchewan”, Canadian Political Science Review, Volume 2, Number 1, March/April 2008, pp. 64-71.  

David McGrane, “Western Alienation or Mere Critique of Federal Government Policies?: Saskatchewan Social Democrats’ View of Federalism from 1900 to Present”, International Journal of Canadian Studies, Volume 32, (2005), pp. 205-235. 

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

David McGrane, “Making the Best of a Bad Situation:  Political Marketing and the Federal NDP’s Fight for Relevance”, in The Canadian Federal Election of 2019, Jon Pammett and Christopher Doran (eds.), Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016, pp. 62-84. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane and Anne McGrath. “National Campaign Directors” in Inside the Campaign: Managing Elections in Canada, Alex Marland and Thierry Giasson (eds), Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2020, pp. 135-147. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane. “‘What does ‘progressive’ mean? The Political Theory of Social Democracy and Reform Liberalism in Canada” in Applied Political Theory and Canadian Politics, David McGrane and Neil Hibbert (eds.), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019, pp. 69-91. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane. “Pursuing Equality: Political Thought of Allan Blakeney”, in Back to Blakeney: Revitalizing the Democratic State, David McGrane, John Whyte, Roy Romanow and Russell Isinger (editors), Regina: University of Regina Press, 2019, pp. 15-32. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane. “Liberals versus Social Democrats: Electoral Competition Among Centre-left Parties in Canada” in Why the Left Loses: The Decline of the Centre-left in Comparative Perspective, Rob Manwaring and Paul Kennedy (eds.), University of Bristol Policy Press, 2017, pp. 39-52. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane. "Election Preparation in the Federal NDP: The Next Campaign Starts the Day after the Last One Ends" in Permanent Campaigning Canada, Alex Marland, Thierry Giasson, and Anna Lennox Esselment (eds.), Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2017, pp. 145-183. Purchase this book from the publisher

David McGrane, "Ideological Modernization and Professionalization: The NDP Under Jack Layton and Tom Mulcair" in Canadian Parties in Transition, Fourth Edition, Alain-G. Gagnon and A. Brian Tanguay (eds.), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017, pp. 168-184. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane, "From Third to First and Back to Third: The 2015 NDP Campaign" in The Canadian Federal Election of 2015, Jon Pammett and Christopher Doran (eds.), Toronto: Dundurn Publishing, 2016, pp. 85-116. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane, "Centrism, Ideological Polarization, and the Provincial Voter" in Provinces: Canadian Provincial Politics, Third Edition, Christopher Dunn (ed.), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016, pp. 183-218. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane, "National Unity through Disengagement: The Harper Government's One-off Federalism" in How Ottawa Spends, 2013-2014: The Harper Government: Mid-Term Blues and Long-Term Plans, Christopher Stoney and Bruce Doern (eds.), Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2013, pp. 114-126. Purchase this book from the publisher. 

David McGrane, "Political Marketing and the NDP's Historic Breakthrough" in The Canadian Federal Election of 2011, Jon Pammett and Christopher Doran (eds.), Toronto: Dundurn Publishing, 2011, pp. 77-110. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane, "Balancing Conflicting Purposes: Saskatchewan Taxation Policy from 1991 to 2011" in New Directions in Saskatchewan Public Policy, David McGrane (ed.), Regina: University of Regina Press, 2011, pp. 91-120. Purchase this book from the publisher.

David McGrane, “Which Third Way? A Comparison of the Romanow and Calvert NDP Governments from 1991 to 2007” Saskatchewan Politics: Crowding the Centre, Howard Leeson (ed.), Regina: University of Regina, 2008, pp. 143-164. Purchase this book at Amazon.ca.

David McGrane. “Limiting Fiscal Capacity?: The Relationship between Transfer Payments and Social Spending in Canadian Provinces from 1988 to 2002” in Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, edited by Ian Peach, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2007, pp. 51-88. Purchase this book at Amazon.ca.

Teaching & Supervision

Dr. McGrane teaches POLS 111 (Democracy in Canada and the United States), POLS 305 (Provincial Politics and Policy), POLS 327 (Political Marketing), POLS 349 (Politics of Canadian Diversity), POLS 404 (Canadian Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations), and POLS 405/807 (Canadian Elections and Political Parties).

Research

Canadian Political Parties Canadian Politics Federal NDP Federalism Quebec Saskatchewan Politics elections nationalism poltical theory

Research interests include social democracy, political theory, elections, voter behaviour, and political marketing.

Education & Training

B.A.: University of Regina (Political Science, 1999)

M.A.: York University (Political Science, 2000)

Ph.D.: Carleton University (Political Science, 2007)