Elections and Dennis Tourbin Controversy The following paper is mainly related to elections. It has three parts. In the first part, the paper discusses the effect of leaders on the results of an election. It also discusses the results of Quebec elections 2014 and the effect of leaders on it. The second part of the paper focuses on the Dennis Tourbin controversy and the reasons behind the cancellation of the exhibit it was going to be a part of. The last part of the paper discusses whether the cancellation of the exhibit was against Tourbin's rights or not. It also discusses the impact of the exhibit at Ottawa art gallery on the Quebec referendum.

Impact of Leaders on Election Results

Nowadays, the leaders have a great impact on the performance of the political parties in the elections. The leaders appearing in election advertisements on the television and in different campaign events have an influence on the people. They create this influence with the power of their speech and as a result, people follow and eventually vote their favorites. The impact of leaders was not that high in the beginning when the people used to think of the leaders as just figurative heads possessing the same or even less capabilities than other party members. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

The trend, however, has changed recently and the people's focus has changed from the entire party to the leader. Sometimes parties and governments are not labeled by their respective names but with the name of the leader who the people saw during the election campaign. This trend is not without a reason, people are mostly interested and fascinated by the qualities of the leaders, and thus they start supporting them. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

The parties are very careful about choosing their leaders. The reason behind this is the importance of the leader to the party and his impact on the election results. It is quite normal to see one of the best party members to become the leader. Having one of the best as the leaders influences the people as they look upon the leader profiles and therefore they are in a certain way, impressed by the party by the virtue of the leader. (Bean & Mughan, 1989)

Sometimes, the party leader impresses the people so much that the other candidates benefit from it. The populace is generally so impressed by the leader that they vote for other candidates of the party as well. This is called the coattail effect. This is effect is normally seen during elections and thus it proves the influence of good leadership on people.

The effect the leaders create on the people eventually reflects in the election results. The parties with popular leaders experience a healthy inflow of votes. This may not be the case all the time but the leader does coax votes from himself and other party candidates. (FOURNIER & CUTLER et al., 2013)

Quebec Elections 2014

The leader of the Parti Quebecois triggered the Quebec elections held on April 7, 2014. Pauline Marois, the leader of Parti Quebecois won a minority government over the province. Eighteen months after that, she announced new elections. The underlying motive of the call was to get a majority government. The results, however, were going to be shocking. (Conway, 2014)

The Liberal party, led by Phillip Couillard, won the elections by getting 70 out of 125 seats in the national assembly. The party entered the elections as obvious opposition but soon fought with the questions about the steps they would take to stop the government from failing like the last one. The early election call itself was considered a gamble for the Parti Quebecois, which it lost. Parti Quebecois won 30 seats in the national assembly and therefore, it had to step down from the government. (Conway, 2014)

The leadership had an impact on the people and therefore, the results of the elections. The liberal party that won, had Philippe Couillard as the leader. Couillard was a brain surgeon and this makes an impression the first time anyone hears about him. He has achieved a lot of things but he was criticized much when he entered politics. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard was the chief neurosurgeon in the St. Luc hospital. He is also the co-founder of neurosurgery services in Dhahran. After completing his work in Dhahran, he returned to Canada and started teaching in the Sherbooke University and also parted his services as the director of the surgery department. (Conway,...

At that time, the party leader was Jean Charest. He was appointed the health minister by the party. He had to vacate the office in 2008 and after that; he started to work in a private equity fund. He was criticized for arranging a job for himself as he was the health minister. (Conway, 2014)
Couillard as a leader had an impact on people that led his party to victory. The primary concern of Couillard was to attract people's attention towards the economic problems. He portrayed his party as the one who realized the economic pressure on the people and were determined to do something about it. The Parti Quebecois, on the other hand, tried to make the cultural identity a major issue in these elections. This move of Couillard portrayed him as the leader who knows about the general problems the people face. Therefore, he impressed the people. He won his seat in Roberval. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard further convinced the people by explaining to them about his shift from politics to private job. Couillard was elected as the party leader in March 2013. Before re-entering politics, Couillard said: 'I feel the need to serve. I could feel this big wave of desire in me to serve again.' This statement made the people believe that he left the politics with a heavy heart and is continuing it when he has the chance. The reputation of Couillard was the thing that got him and his party to the victory. (Conway, 2014)

Moreover, Jean Charest and his last government were involved in the student crisis which stained their name badly. Couillard was able to avoid this crisis as he had left the party before that in 2008. Therefore, he was the leader of a party who was not involved in the incidents that dented the reputation of the party. (Conway, 2014)

Couillard as a leader had an impact on the people of Quebec and the election results prove that. He won a seat in Roberval, which is a region that supports the idea of an independent Quebec. His victory in such a region shows that he had an impact on the results of the Quebec elections 2014. (Conway, 2014)

On the other hand, the leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois had a rather negative impact on the people of Quebec. Marois is the supporter of an independent Quebec and sees it to have its own cultural identity. She outdid the liberals on 2012 and made the party's minority government. She is referred to as the concrete lady by her supporters. (Conway, 2014)

She did not have a very good repute among the public and that's why she lost her own seat in Charlevoix -- Cote-de-Beaupre. First of all, the early call of elections was a gamble which did not sit well with her. In addition, she was also accused of being opportunistic when she supported a student union. (Conway, 2014)

In addition, she was also blamed for being in contact with some high ranked officials. Two officials were recorded on a wiretap talking to Marois about pressurizing the party to avoid the corruption investigation. The recording also consisted of information about Marois' husband having a deal with a labor union. Marois denied all the charges on her to avoid any further inquiry. (Conway, 2014)

The effect of the bad reputation of Pauline Marois was seen in the election results where her negative impact on the elections made her lose her own seat and the party also did not fare well. She also resigned from the post of the party leader. (Conway, 2014)

Leaders have a great impact on the election results. The impact can be either positive or negative but the leaders certainly alter the choice of people, as they are the ones who negotiate the good intents of the party to the public. (Conway, 2014)

Dennis Tourbin Controversy

Dennis Tourbin was an artist who became famous with his painting on the subject of October crisis. Tourbin was interested in this topic and therefore, he made a series of ink drawings and collages related to the topic. The series was named La crise d'octobre. The artist was famous for his poems and dedications to other artists but these drawings were to give him a new level of fame. (Gessell, 2012)

In 1994, Tourbin along with the Ottawa art gallery decided to exhibit the series of paintings. The exhibition was to be held in mid-September to October in the year 1995. It overlapped the date of the October crisis itself and…