STRATEGIC AND PROTEST VOTING FOR 3RD PARTIES - THE CASE OF THE CANADIAN NDP

Duverger's Law argues that "third" parties should disappear under the "first- past-the-post" system. The presence of persistent third parties, therefore, provides an anomaly to be explained. In this paper we argue that this "winner-take-all" electoral system can provide circumstances which can sustain minor parties. Taking as our case study the Canadian New Democratic party, we show that both "strategic" and "protest" voting can work to the benefit of minor parties. Both types of voting force us to modify our conceptions of both Duverger's Law and "rejection" voting.