Reviews

Podcast interview: Dr Jared J. Wesley (University of Alberta)
“Podcast: UCP’s recall plans come back to bite them”
November 19, 2025
Extract: “A number of government MLAs are now being targeted with voter recall campaigns.”
https://www.alberta.readtheline.ca/p/podcast-ucps-recall-plans-come-back?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=5652094&post_id=179408353&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=play_card_post_title&r=evscl&triedRedirect=true 

Publication in « Policy Options »
“How to tamp down hyperpartisanship in Canadian politics” by Alex Marland (Acadia University), Jared J. Wesley (University of Alberta), and Mireille Lalancette (UQTR),
November 14, 2025
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/11/partisan-politics/
Extract: “A stronger Parliament requires empowering backbenchers, reducing political staff influence and creating real opportunities for independents to be elected and contribute meaningfully.”

Publication in « The Conversation »
Jared J. Wesley (University of Alberta), Alex Marland (Acadia University), and Mireille Lalancette (UQTR)
November 12, 2025
“Team work and power plays: What Alberta’s Bill 2 says about Canadian democracy”
https://theconversation.com/team-work-and-power-plays-what-albertas-bill-2-says-about-canadian-democracy-269373 
Extract: “For Canadians elsewhere, Bill 2 is a window into how hyper-partisanship and polarization can weaken the checks and balances meant to restrain premiers and prime ministers from acting unilaterally.”

By Christina Leadlay – The Hill Times
“This just in: Alex Marland to release new book this fall, No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics, and it looks like another good one”
July 28, 2025
https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/07/28/this-just-in-alex-marland-to-release-new-book-this-fall-no-i-in-team-party-loyalty-in-canadian-politics-and-it-looks-good/468152/
Extract: “It’s packed with new research and insights from across the country. We strive to answer a perplexing question: why are Canadian politicians so loyal to their parties?”

“No I in Team pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of Canadian party politics, revealing how loyalty, message discipline, and branding shape the lives of parliamentarians. This is a timely and provocative account of how political parties manage their members – and what happens when those members push back.”

Stephen Azzi, Professor of Political Management, Carleton University

 “Alex Marland, Jared Wesley, and Mireille Lalancette document in No I in Team the ongoing creep of party discipline into the actions of Canadian elected representatives, with a keen focus on the range of forces that incentivize conformity. It will be essential reading for those interested in how Canadian political parties and representatives operate, especially in the digital era with an ever-expanding range of communication tools and strategies.”

Kelly Blidook, Associate Professor of Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland

A must-read for students trying to understand the limits of party discipline, and for MPs to have to live with it!

Ian Brodie, Professor of Political Science, University of Calgary

“No I in Team exposes the costs of ‘unity’ in Canadian politics. Taking readers well beyond the concept of party discipline, Alex Marland, Jared Wesley, and Mireille Lalancette explain why some politicians break ranks, or make the painful decision to switch teams – even when it means the end of their political career. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in loyalty, dissent, and betrayal in political parties and legislative politics.”

Rob Currie-Wood, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Mount Royal University and author of Renegotiating the Bargain: The Formation of Power-Sharing Arrangements within Canadian Political Parties

« In an environment of heightened partisan pressures and social media scrutiny, No I in Team attempts to account for why certain politicians step outside of the bounds of party discipline, resigning their seats, occasionally sitting as independents, or going so far as crossing the floor. In essence, it argues that in order to understand the inner workings of party loyalty in Canada, one needs also to understand what leads some elected officials to abandon their parties. »

Joanna Everitt, Professor of Political Science, University of New Brunswick (Saint John) and former President, Canadian Political Science Association

No I in Team pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden dimensions of Canadian politics: party loyalty. Drawing on extensive research and written in an accessible style, the authors reveal how the unwritten “loyalty agreement” between party leaders and MPs has undergone profound changes over several decades. To confront the rise of hyper-partisanship and centralized party control, the book offers a practical roadmap for strengthening political parties and parliaments that will interest a wide audience. No I in Team is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how Canadian politics really works and how it can be improved — beyond the headlines and behind closed caucus doors.

Tracey Raney, Professor of Politics & Public Administration, Toronto Metropolitan University

A well researched and highly readable book that provides invaluable insights into how parliamentarians go about their work and what ails Parliament. Canadians looking for answers about their Parliament’s inability to meet expectations need look no further than No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics.

Donald J. Savoie, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Public Administration and Governance, Université de Moncton

“Powerful bonds of loyalty and discipline tie Canadian elected officials to their political parties. No I in Team offers a rich exploration of how politicians internalize, reinforce, challenge, and sometimes reject their roles as loyal partisans. Through the stories of team players, mavericks, and party leavers, the book brings these dynamics to life, offering insight into why some politicians remain devoted to their party while others break away. The book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand this dynamic that shapes Canadian political life.”

Lisa Young, Professor of Political Science, University of Calgary

In No I in Team, Marland, Wesley and Lalancette take on a serious problem of Canadian democracy, the suffocating hyper-loyalty of Canadian legislators to their parties. Their imaginative approach focuses on elected members’ disloyalty: members who speak out or vote against their parties and those who leave their caucuses to sit as independents or cross the floor. Their engagingly presented analysis of their original, extraordinarily rich data set is insightful and nuanced. With its recommendations for loosening the reins on Canadian legislators, this is a must-read for anyone concerned about the health of Parliament and the provincial assemblies. Want to understand party loyalty in Canada? Read this terrific analysis of legislators who were disloyal to their parties … and typically suffered the consequences.

Graham White, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto