There’s some worry among the pundit class that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be walking away from his promise to make the 2015 election the last one decided by the first-past-the-post electoral system.
His new government’s popularity means, perhaps, Canadians have lost their appetite to change the system that put him in power, he intimated in an interview.
Yet six in 10 Canadians, according to a recent poll by EKOS, want the prime minister to keep his promise. Perhaps contradictory, a Forum Research poll found first past the post was the most popular system, given a choice.
If those two things don’t compute for you, don’t feel bad. Apparently a great many of us are out of sorts when it comes to electoral reform. That same survey found only 40 per cent of people could correctly name the type of system we’re using.
It would be the ultimate in arrogance and elitism to suggest the topic of electoral reform is too complex for the average Canadian voter – but Churchill famously noted the best argument against democracy was a five-minute conversation with the average voter. It’s partly why putting the change to a referendum is probably a bad idea.
Ultimately, Trudeau should follow through on his campaign promise.
No matter what system we use, there are a few immutable truths that will remain: parties will cynically strategize to woo blocks of voters, politicians will still make grandiose promises, and newly elected governments will find reasons to bait and switch, just like this one may be attempting to do now.
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