Pivot or Pirouette?: The 1993 Canadian General Election

The 1993 federal election was in many ways the strangest in Canada’s history. The results were unprecedented: the governing party was reduced to two seats, a separatist party became the official opposition, and a new regional party swept the West. Pivot or Pirouette? covers both the backstory and the aftermath, arguing that although the shocking results seemed pivotal, ultimately the pivot turned into a full pirouette as Canadian politics returned to historical norms. New parties shake up the system but are eventually absorbed into it, bringing innovation but not transformation. You can’t understand modern Canadian politics without understanding the 1993 election.