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.

  • 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.