Ahead to the Past: the Return of the Delegated Leadership Convention (24-41) 24 Ahead to the Past: the Return of the Delegated Leadership Convention

Since Confederation, the electorate responsible for the selection of Canadian political party leaders has progressively widened; by the end of the twentieth century, most parties were employing some variant of the universal ballot (thereby giving all party members a voice in leadership selection). Nevertheless, the 42 person executive of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives rolled back this democratic tide by organizing a delegated convention to replace departing leader John Hamm. The Conservatives justified their decision by claiming that such a convention would be the most fair, the most equal, and the most exciting way to select their new leader. This article demonstrates, however, that these claims are difficult to substantiate. There was much drama on voting day, but the Conservatives were, in fact, very fortunate in that respect. Equality between constituencies was heightened, but only at the cost of introducing a substantial inequality between individual party members. As to fairness, it seemed entirely irrelevant to the proceedings. Ultimately, not even a majority of delegate