It was about 10 years ago this time that Justin Trudeau strode up to Rideau Hall and made history being sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. There was a lot of hope about what the future of Trudeau’s premiership held, but perhaps no other constituency were hit harder by the political realities of the Trudeau-mania hangover than electoral reform activists. Can changing our voting system still possibly get a fair hearing?
What does Mark Carney think about electoral reform? Believe it or not the topic cam...
It was about 10 years ago this time that Justin Trudeau strode up to Rideau Hall and made history being sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. There was a lot of hope about what the future of Trudeau’s premiership held, but perhaps no other constituency were hit harder by the political realities of the Trudeau-mania hangover than electoral reform activists. Can changing our voting system still possibly get a fair hearing?
What does Mark Carney think about electoral reform? Believe it or not the topic came up in the federal election campaign earlier this year at an event in Sault Ste. Marie. It was clear that Carney was not going to be making an promises about ending our First Past the Post electoral system, but it was also clear that it was not going to be a priority until all the other problems are solved, and as you may have noticed, we’re still waiting for that deal with Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government announced last month that they were scrapping fixed election dates, raising the donation cap to $5,000 and eliminating pre-election spending limits for third parties. These are probably not the kinds of electoral changes that people like Fair Vote Canada are seeking. They are on the leading edge of proponents wanting to change the way we elect the people that govern us, and this week, we will talk to one of them about where we presently sit in the process of reforming our elections.
Kevin Bowman joins on this edition of the pod to dive deep into the current state of electoral reform activism, why people are more open to the issue than we might conventionally think, and whether any meaningful progress can be made while the federal NDP and Greens are in the political wilderness. Also, how can the issue be promoted back to prominence again, and what will members of Fair Vote be saying to delegates at this weekend’s Liberal convention in Hamilton
So let's re-embrace electoral reform on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can learn more about Fair Vote Guelph at their website, and you can access the nation-wide Fair Vote Canada at their website. If you’re interested in getting involved with the cause of electoral reform you can access Democracy Watch and the National Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. If you like, you can revisit the federal government’s 2016 report, “Strengthening Democracy in Canada: Principles, Process and Public Engagement for Electoral Reform” on the Government of Canada website.
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