The impact of political risk on the volatility of stock returns: the case of Canada

This paper examines the impact of political risk in Canada on the volatility of stock returns. Our results suggest that political news associated with the possible separation of Quebec from Canada plays an important role in the volatility of stock returns. However, our evidence indicates that investors do not require a risk premium, supporting the idea that political risk is diversifiable. We also show that stock return volatility varies with the degree of a firm's exposure to political risk, namely, the structure of assets and the extent of foreign involvement, which indicates that firms most exposed to political risk bear the burden of diversification.