Mass-Elite Congruence in Canada: A Study of Federal Candidates

Abstract Drawing on parallel surveys of more than 300 2021 federal election candidates and 5739 citizens, this study offers a systematic overview of policy preference congruence between federal candidates and Canadians. We address three questions: dyadic congruence between candidates and average district-level policy preferences, with a particular focus on within-party vs. across-party mechanisms of congruence; candidate-level correlates of dyadic congruence; and the role of shared candidate-constituent characteristics in generating collective congruence. We find strong evidence of dyadic congruence, especially among elected candidates, and show that this alignment operates primarily through across-party sorting rather than within-party variation. Winners are more congruent than losers; candidate residence in a district and selection by district-level party members does not improve congruence. At the collective level, shared demographic and geographic characteristics increase congruence, but only to a substantively modest degree. Taken together, our findings support a party-delegate view of Canadian federal candidates and clarify how Canada’s electoral institutions structure the citizen-politician policy connection.