Partisanship, motivated reasoning and the notwithstanding Clause: the case of provincially imposed redistricting in the city of Toronto.

Little work has considered the effects of using (or threatening to use) the Notwithstanding Clause upon public opinion towards a contested policy, or how partisans respond to its use. Using data from the Canadian Municipal Election Study, we consider these questions in the case of provincially imposed city council redistricting in Toronto in 2018. Experimental results reveal that, when reminded of the provincial government's threat of using the Notwithstanding Clause, Torontonians became less supportive of redistricting. Results vary by provincial partisanship, with Progressive Conservative partisans becoming more supportive when receiving this reminder, while opposition and non-partisans were less supportive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]