While Justin Trudeau abandoned his commitment to electoral reform all the way back in 2017, the issue has endured because Canadians understand that our voting system fails to accurately represent the will of voters. But this Trudeau failure is an opportunity for Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to become the outspoken champions of electoral reform.

It should be made clear that Trudeau still rejects proportional representation—a system where parties get seats based on their vote percentage—and continues to partially blame opposition parties for his own inaction. He still prefers a ranked ballot system—where you number your preferred candidates in order on your ballot—which would not have made “every vote count” as he pledged in 2015. A recent article from NDP MP Matthew Green and Joseph Gubbels showcases Trudeau’s flawed approach to reform.

  • humanspiral
    133·
    21 hours ago

    “Ranked ballot” is the best IMO. You still end up with a representative that you have a small amount of influence over instead of an unaccountable electoral slate. It’s unclear who you would bribe to get your corporatist agenda advanced, but the oligarchs would just bribe them all.

    Take Green party as an example that gets 1-2% of seats now. It or similar party could adopt a single issue platform that gets 10% of votes, but it could be a RFK Jr extremist position. Current/recent Green platforms could win 30%+ of seats if CIA Canadian media didn’t tell you that you are wasting your vote on them.

    At any rate, ranked ballot is a massive positive with 0 “unintended consequences” from a radical change in representation system. Can push for alternate voting systems after.

    • hydration9806@lemmy.ml
      7·
      8 hours ago

      Ranked is definitely better than FPTP, but not the best. Here is a quick and entertaining video on ranked voting (aka alternative ballot)

      • kent_ehEnglish
        3·
        8 hours ago

        And this disagreement was one of the main reasons Trudeau abandoned the attempt. (Noting that the attempt was started then abandoned as a failed effort, which I see as different from a cynically broken promise)

        There was no clear path to a consensus, even among experts, on which other system to adopt.

        Couple that with the reality that the majority of Canadians don’t really care about the minutae of the voting system.

        Sure highly politically engaged people in discussion forums might care deeply, but the average person really doesn’t.

    • slowbyrne@lemm.eeEnglish
      51·
      12 hours ago

      If you believe Ranked is the best that’s fine, but suggesting we can push for alternative voting systems after is just not realistic. The temporary solution almost always becomes the permanent one.

      • humanspiral
        1·
        9 hours ago

        FPTP sucks. Media amplifies its suckitude by not polling districts and letting you be informed on which candidate is a wasted vote if you are ABC for example.

        One of Trump’s more corrupt than average acts was telling his party to vote against an anti-immigrant bill. Politicians making things worse so you stay angry and hateful so that you turn out to vote for the politician who keeps you angry and hateful, is a weakness of democracy and the corruption we are stuck in.

        There is no actual impediment to improving anything in society. Instead of collapsing society first, it is actually easier to make small optimizations if you don’t live in a dumpster fire. You are acknowledging broken corrupt system if you need the dumpster fire to get bigger for progressive views to take hold.