Representational Repertoires: Descriptive, Symbolic, and Substantive Representation Among Black Canadian Parliamentarians

Much of the scholarship on diversity in politics centres around Hanna Pitkin’s (1967) distinction between the descriptive, substantive, and symbolic dimensions of representation. Descriptive representation captures the demographic composition of elected institutions and “who governs.” Substantive representation focuses on integration of group interests in policymaking and policy outcomes, while symbolic representation captures the potentially transformative effect of more diverse legislatures on attitudes toward historically underrepresented groups. There has been considerable research on the link between these forms of representation in a variety of contexts (e.g., Lowande et al. 2019; Mügge and Runderkamp 2023; Sobolewska et al. 2018; Wallace 2014), but Canadian research has tended to focus primarily on descriptive representation. To the extent that substantive representation has been analyzed in Canadian politics and elsewhere, this work has tended to look at women (e.g., Rayment and McCallion 2023; Tremblay 1998, 2007; Tremblay and Pelletier 2000; Trimble 2006). Very little looks at the representation of racialized Canadians, and even less on racialized women or specific racialized groups (although for exceptions, see Bird 2010; Kwak 2018). As part of a larger project on the experiences of Black Canadians in politics, this paper contributes to this literature through an intersectional analysis of parliamentary speeches by Black Canadian Members of Parliament and Senators. Developing the concept of a “representational repertoire,” the paper sheds light on the institutional, ideological, geographic, and group-specific factors that shape descriptive, symbolic, and substantive representation. Importantly, it identifies how gender, race, and intersectionality influence representational repertoires. In doing so, it provides a deeper understanding of the opportunities and constraints that Black Canadians confront in their representational work.