An Examination of the Relationship between Prominence in Federal Debates and Federal Funding Indigenous, Environmental, and Women’s Groups in Canada, 1960-2014

In this paper, we use two innovative datasets to examine debates within the Canadian Parliament to determine the relationship between the amount of discussion an issue area receives and the later funding it receives. First, we bring together information on all grants to groups in three issue areas (Indigenous, Women’s and Environmental) given by the federal government from Federal Public Accounts. Second, we count all mentions of Indigenous, Women’s, and Environmental issues in the Hansard, a record of all debate and discussion in the Canadian Parliament. Through this research, we highlight the connection between government debate and actions and the complex relationships between the discussion of elected officials and the policy outcomes across issue areas.