Question
What are special interest groups? Who do they represent and what are some of the characteristics that can form a basis for such groups?
What are special interest groups?
An interest group is an organized association that seeks to influence public decisions around shared interests or concerns. “Special” identifies a particular constituency or cause; it does not by itself establish that a group is improper.
Who do they represent?
Groups may represent workers, businesses, professions, communities, or people supporting a public cause. Their leaders advocate for those constituencies, rather than claiming to speak for everyone. Formal membership and the wider population benefiting from a policy can differ.
What characteristics can form a basis for them?
Common foundations include occupation, economic interests, ethnicity, language, gender, religion, and shared values. A professional association may focus on working conditions; a language association may advocate access to services. These are illustrative categories, not claims about named organizations.
Interest groups primarily seek policy influence. Political parties primarily compete to hold governing office. Supporting candidates can be one interest-group tactic without turning the group into a party.
Evidence boundary
This answer covers all three parts of short-answer question 1 in Canadian Democracy, ninth edition, chapter 12. Examples illustrate types of constituencies; they do not assert that every member of a demographic group shares an opinion or belongs to an organization. No current lobbying-law advice or organization membership statistics are implied.
Sources
These references support the concepts and methods used in the explanation above.