Blogging the Hill: Garth Turner and the Canadian Parliamentary Blogosphere

Authors

  • Tamara A Small Mount Allison University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24124/c677/200849

Abstract

Canadian parliamentarian Garth Turner was expelled from the caucus of the governing Conservative Party in 2006. Turner was ousted because comments on his blog allegedly breached caucus confidentiality. While political blogs are mainstream in American politics, the study of Canadian political blogs is in its infancy. This research addresses one aspect of political weblogs: blogging by Canadian parliamentarians through a case study of Garth Turner Unedited. While most current Canadian parliamentarians are online with their own web sites promoting the constituency and party activities, Garth Turner is only one of a few parliamentarians that embrace blogging in its full capacity. The research demonstrates that the blog has become a virtual community for political participation and expression.

Author Biography

Tamara A Small, Mount Allison University

Tamara A. Small is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Mount Allison University. Her research interests focus on the use of the Internet by Canadian political actors. She teaches courses on Canadian federalism, Canadian political parties and interest groups and Information technology and politics.

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Published

2008-09-29

How to Cite

Small, T. A. (2008). Blogging the Hill: Garth Turner and the Canadian Parliamentary Blogosphere. Canadian Political Science Review, 2(3), 103–124. https://doi.org/10.24124/c677/200849