Liberals have no one else to blame for bungled electoral reform
It is hard for me to start foaming at the mouth over Justin Trudeau’s broken promise on electoral reform. I never actually believed that 2015 was going to be the last election under the first past post system. The prime minister’s lofty rhetoric at the time, declaring change, was only thing that got lift off. […]
On electoral reform, the feds got just what they asked for: an excuse
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Buried on the third page of the prime minister’s mandate letter to the minister of democratic institutions were five brief lines about electoral reform, concluding with “changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate.” And with that, the Liberals brushed off their shoulders and moved on from their promise that 2015 […]
Six things we learned from the latest Conservative leadership fundraising data
1. Caroline Mulroney Lapham donated to Lisa Raitt Caroline Mulroney Lapham, daughter of former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, at one time had her name bandied about as a possible contender for the leadership of the Conservative Party. She quickly announced she was flattered but not interested. But that doesn’t mean she’s not paying attention […]
First-past-the-post electoral system advances ‘democratic values,’ says rookie Democratic Institutions Minister Gould a week after Libs break campaign promise
PARLIAMENT HILL—A week after the Trudeau government scrapped its promise to change Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system in time for the next federal election, the new Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould defended the current voting system before the House Affairs Committee Tuesday, saying it “advances a number of democratic values.” “The first-past-the-post system may not be […]
Latest cabinet lineup intended to last into next election, say Liberals
With Liberal support dropping in public opinion polls, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent cabinet shuffle was aimed at including more young and upcoming MPs on his front bench who are likely to stick around for the next election and beyond, say party insiders. “He’s taking gradual steps to put together a team to get ready for the next […]
Sometimes ambiguity can be a blueprint for survival
OTTAWA—In politics, ambiguity is usually considered a sign of weak leadership. But it can sometimes be a blueprint for survival. When the Government of France weighed in on the question of an independent Quebec back in 1977, they coined a phrase that epitomizes political ambiguity. The “non-indifference” policy was their explanation to support but not […]
Proportional representation is the way to go, says British Columbia reader
Our current first-past-the-post electoral system leads to U.S.-style two-party politics. Proportional representation is a fairer way of counting the votes. We need electoral reform and proportional representation. If American voters had a third option, if they had implemented electoral reform, if they had proportional representation, if they had a real choice in a real democracy, Donald Trump would […]
Ministerial mandate changes include a renege on electoral reform, and dropped wording promising to fulfill ‘all’ commitments
The revised mandate letters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s refreshed cabinet members hit with a thud in Ottawa yesterday, as it quickly became apparent that the government was no longer going to pursue changes to Canada’s electoral system. Written explicitly in the marching orders for new Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould (Burlington, Ont.): “Changing the […]
Free Liberal memberships attract thousands of new members ahead of hotly-contested Ottawa-Vanier nomination
With the incentive of free party membership, Liberal Party membership in the riding of Ottawa-Vanier, Ont., has grown eight times over in anticipation of a nomination meeting there, and the 10 candidates running in this safe Liberal riding are focused on getting as many of these members out as possible on voting day. The nomination vote is […]
House Affairs Committee still working through election report as House business resumes
After weeks of in-camera discussions last fall, the Procedure and House Affairs Committee is still only about a third of the way through reviewing Canada’s chief electoral officer’s report on the 2015 election, with members “nowhere near consensus” on some of the 132 recommendations made, says Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, who chairs the committee “It takes a […]
