Research Articles
The Association has, as one of its primary goals, the pursuit of research into "life after politics" and, specifically, it endeavours to acquire any and all articles, papers and books on the subject.
The following are some recent additions to our database and they make for very interesting reading - not only for former MPP's, but for anyone who is interested in learning more about the side of politics that doesn't seem to get much coverage in the mainstream media. The goal is not to deify politicians, but it is certainly appropriate to show the price that many people pay for having attained an elected office.
1. To run or not to run? A survey of former Members of the Parliament of Canada, January 2001
by Associate Professor David C. Docherty, Ph.D., Dept. of Political Science
Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON
2. Life after Losing or Leaving
Professor Kevin Theakston, Dr. Ed Gouge, Dr. Victoria Honeyman, "Life After Losing or Leaving" A Report for the Association of Former Members of Parliament by the University of Leeds. October 2007.
"In a major study, a team at the University of Leeds sought to find out whether this is true by asking more than 180 former MPs about aspects of their post-Parliamentary life including how difficult it is to find a job, the support they receive from their political party and how it feels to lose their seat."
3. Life after Parliament
Parliamentary Government, Number 48-49, 1995 "Life after Parliament Issue"
This issue includes two articles: "Life After Parliament Hill....but let the Candidate be Cautious" by Jeffrey Holmes, and "The Resettlement Program Wins Parliamentarians' Plaudits"
4. Death at the Polls: Experiencing and Coping with Political Defeat
William Shaffir and Steven Kleinknech : "Death at the Polls: Experiencing and Coping with Political Defeat" Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 34 No. 6, December 2005 707-738
5. Life after Politics
Carol Goar "Life after politics" Toronto Star, Sunday December 18, 2011
Link to Article in Toronto Star
6. The Trauma of Political Defeat
by Steven Kleinknecht and William Shaffir
At the time this article was written William Shaffir was a Professor and Steven Kleinknecht a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University in Hamilton. The data for this paper derives from a series of forty-five informal interviews, conducted by the senior author with former provincial and federal Members of Parliament. In most cases, the conversations took place within five years of the defeat.