Do local campaigns matter? Campaign spending, the local canvass and party support in Canada

Though most observers agree that election campaigns have become increasingly nationalized in recent decades, considerable disagreement persists over whether and how local campaigns effect the vote. This study explores the impact of campaign spending and campaign activists on support levels for the national parties contesting the Canadian federal election of 1988, and builds on parallel work done in the U.K. Despite the unusually nationalized character of the 1988 election (dominated by the issue of the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.), we are able to demonstrate convincingly that local campaigns do matter for most candidates. Specifically, campaign effects were strongest for candidates running for the opposition parties, especially those who ran non-winning campaigns. Our results suggest that the local party organizations of non-winning candidates are in the position of being able to realize potentially significant electoral returns through the mobilization of additional personnel or financial resources in their constituency campaigns.