NDP blame failure to sell platform, Trudeaumania for election loss
MONTEBELLO, QUE.—NDP MPs pointed fingers at the party’s national campaign Tuesday as the remnants of the New Domocrat’s parliamentary caucus began two days of private talks to set a blueprint for the way ahead after the devastating shock of the October general election. But while newly-elected NDP caucus chair Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, Ont.), questioned […]
Instead of seeking to form a government, Mulcair will be campaigning to keep his job as NDP leader
OTTAWA—When Thomas Mulcair was last squarely in the public eye, he was retreating into the background after a painful campaign. Now, he starts another tough campaign. This time, instead of seeking to form a government, he will be campaigning to keep his job as NDP leader. That is, if he wants it, and all indications […]
Trudeau holds Cabinet meeting in New Brunswick as reward for electoral victory, looking to future
It wasn’t just the stunning view that took Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his inside circle to St. Andrew’s by the Sea, N.B., this week for the first Liberal Cabinet retreat outside the National Capital Region in more than a decade—it was a thought to the political future. Of nine electoral districts the Liberals won […]
Possible court challenges, political, pundit pushback, self-interest: major obstacles to Libs’ electoral reform agenda
Possible court challenges, pushback from opposition parties, from the public and from the media, along with political self-interest and the potential loss of political capital are just some of the major obstacles the majority-governing Liberals will have to overcome to achieve key elements of their sweeping electoral reform agenda, say political observers. “Often, these things […]
Canada can learn a thing or two from Scotland on electoral reform
Our national conversation on the question of electoral reform has, so far, largely been focused on the three major parties’ respective preferred alternatives: a ranked ballot, proportional representation (PR), or the status quo. Little attention has been paid to other, possibly more desirable options. Seeing as more complex systems—such as single transferable vote or mixed […]
Does Justin Trudeau really want fair elections?
POWELL RIVER, B.C.—Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s election pledge (and subsequent confirmation) that Canada will not have another election under first-past-the-post (FPTP) rules has morphed into a growing controversy. Trudeau’s evident attraction to one option for electoral reform—the so-called preferential ballot (or instant runoff voting—IRV)—and his stated opposition to proportional representation has some analysts and commentators […]
Liberal MP Holland consulting caucus on politically explosive electoral reform issue
Liberal MP Mark Holland, who is also parliamentary secretary to Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, is reaching out to all Liberal MPs to get their feedback on what sort of electoral system they would like to see to replace the first-past-the-post system that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to scrap before the 2019 federal […]
New year, new way to petition Parliament
In December House of Commons officials debuted a new website and a new way to petition Parliamentarians, thanks to the NDP MP Kennedy Stewart private member’s motion to have the House adopt a system allowing Canadians to electronically submit petitions that have at least 500 signatures. The e-petition system compliments the existing paper-based system, but […]
‘There’s no such thing as a safe seat anymore,’ says UPEI prof
Public Services and Procurement Minister Judy Foote was elected in her Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, Nfld., seat with 81.8 per cent of the vote on election night as part of the Liberal sweep in Atlantic Canada, but there no truly safe seats, says a University of Prince Edward Island professor. Don Desserud, a political scientist at UPEI, cautions […]
MPs in close ridings can’t afford to take win for granted
The election is long over, but MPs who won in vulnerable ridings are likely still working hard to engage with constituents and maintain support, even through a majority government and especially over this winter break. “When you’re an MP that’s won in a close riding, I think you have to try to build on that […]
