Tighter political fundraising rules could push activities ‘underground,’ says Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer
Canada’s outgoing chief electoral officer says tightening up rules around so-called “cash-for-access” events or other kinds of fundraising might prompt political operatives to conduct their business less transparently. In an interview with The Hill Times last week, Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand, who steps down next month, said with recent examples of Liberal “cash-for-access” events, he […]
‘We live in a globalized world,’ House most ethnically diverse in Canadian history, but still has long way to go: research
PARLIAMENT HILL—It’s the most ethnically diverse House of Commons in Canadian history, but it still has a long way to go. The House is still mostly white, male, and English-speaking, according to a study conducted by Kai Chan, who released his data to The Hill Times, and most MPs are married, 30 per cent are bilingual, 13 […]
More than 60 per cent of Canadians would prefer majority government: Forum Poll
Two-thirds of voting-age Canadians would want a majority government if a federal election were held today, a new Forum Research poll indicates. The findings, from a survey taken as MPs were beginning the final stages of a four-month committee inquiry into electoral reform, indicate that only one-fifth of electors (19 per cent) would want a […]
Memo to Kellie Leitch: Don’t copy Donald Trump
TORONTO—A 2010 Stanford business school study argued that negative product reviews actually increase sales for a company when it is relatively unknown. This is because, the argument goes, any publicity increases product awareness (although negative reviews for well-known products have the opposite effect). “This suggests that whereas the negative impression fades over time, increased awareness […]
All-party consensus still lacking as House Electoral Reform Committee enters final stretch
PARLIAMENT HILL —A special House of Commons committee that spent nearly four months gathering expert testimony and public views across the country on reforms to Canada’s electoral system is running out of time to hammer out a final report with support from all parties in the House of Commons. The NDP is now backing Conservative MPs on the […]
Trump available to be persuaded by Trudeau’s team: observers
Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government can’t delay in establishing a relationship with president-elect Donald Trump if they want to advance Canada’s interests, say observers of Canada-United States politics. Donald Trump’s apparent lack of ideology will present an opportunity for the Trudeau team, says Scotty Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian American Business Council. “He […]
P.E.I. case shows referendums not ‘decisive tool’ to gauge opinion on electoral reform: Cullen
NDP MP Nathan Cullen says the results of last week’s plebiscite in Prince Edward Island on electoral reform show that referendums are not the decisive tool for determining the mood of the public that the federal Conservatives would like to believe, despite proportional representation, which the NDP supports, emerging as the choice of voters. “The referendum has […]
P.E.I. electoral reform vote result was clear
Re: “Electoral reform plebiscite results anything but clear” (The Hill Times, Nov. 9, p. 8). It seems that when a referendum on electoral reform secures less than 50 per cent or even 60 per cent of the vote, that referendum is considered to have “failed” by opponents of electoral reform. But now, with 52 per […]
Electoral reform consultations aren’t true engagement
What consultations? What lack of consensus? As one of those Canadians who have invested considerable time and effort into educating the “ordinary” voter about changing our voting system, the sorry lack of knowledge and interest about our democracy is a very sad state of affairs. This plays directly into the current deliberations. For example, after […]
Electoral reform plebiscite results anything but clear
The results are in from Prince Edward Island’s innovative electoral reform plebiscite. And any way you slice it, it was a big whiff. Ignore the spin coming out of the pro-proportional representation camp. The big headline from the vote should be the depressingly low turnout, which only hit 36 per cent despite what Premier Wade MacLauchlan rightfully […]
