A Rare Moment of Cross-Partisan Consensus: Elite and Public Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada | Canadian Journal of Political Science

April 16, 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic has placed nearly unprecedented pressure on policymakers and citizens alike. Effectively containing the pandemic requires a societal consensus. However, a long line of research in political science has told us that polarization tends to occur on highly salient topics because partisans “follow the leader.” Elite consensus is thus essential to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This journal article, co-authored by Professor Taylor Owen, examines the degree of partisan consensus that exists in Canada at the level of political elites and the mass public.