[quote]Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is abandoning his long-held promise to change the way Canadians vote in federal elections — an about-face his opposition rivals angrily characterized Wednesday as a cynical betrayal of trust.
In a mandate letter for newly appointed Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, Trudeau makes it clear that electoral reform — once top of mind for the Liberal government — is no longer on the agenda.
“Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate,” the prime minister writes in the letter, released Wednesday.
A variety of consultations across the country have shown that Canadians are not clamouring for a change in the way they choose their federal government, the letter continues. It also rules out the possibility of a national referendum.
“A clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, has not emerged,” Trudeau writes. “Furthermore, without a clear preference or a clear question, a referendum would not be in Canada’s interest.”
Gould repeated the message in a news conference outside the House of Commons.
“If we were to change the electoral system, something as foundational as how we decide to govern ourselves, that we need to do it with the support of Canadians,” she said.
Trudeau repeatedly promised — both as a campaigning Liberal leader and as prime minister in a speech from the throne — to get rid of the current first-past-the-post voting system in time for the 2019 federal election.
New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, the party’s democratic reform critic, savaged Trudeau as a “liar” during a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons.
“This is one of the most cynical displays of self-serving politics this government has yet to engage in,” Cullen said, accusing the Liberals of “seeking any excuse, however weak, however absent, to justify that lie to Canadians.”
Trudeau, he added, “promised to conduct himself with honour and integrity.... It puts into question any promise, any commitment Mr. Trudeau makes or has made in the past.”
Green party Leader Elizabeth May said she felt betrayed, noting that many members of her party had urged people to vote strategically — in favour of the Liberals — based on their promise to bring in electoral reform.
“I feel more deeply shocked and betrayed by my government today than on any day of my adult life,” she said.
Canadians made their views known through the House of Commons special committee on electoral reform, town halls held by MPs from all parties, the travels of former minister Maryam Monsef and a much-maligned online survey called MyDemocracy.ca.[/quote]
[url]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/trudeau-abandons-pledge-to-change-voting-system-before-2019-election/article33855925/[/url]
I feel like a useful idiot. Guess I'm not voting Liberal in 2019.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;51763567]I feel like a useful idiot. Guess I'm not voting Liberal in 2019.[/QUOTE]
I love how everyone's going 180 on Trudeau, blues are definitely gonna win next election.
And Kevin O'Leary is running for conservative PM... which is basically a canadian Trump. We're in for one hell of a ride.
[QUOTE=polarbear.;51763594]I love how everyone's going 180 on Trudeau, blues are definitely gonna win next election.
And Kevin O'Leary is running for conservative PM... which is basically a canadian Trump. We're in for one hell of a ride.[/QUOTE]
Not if the NDP swoops in to capitalize on all the Liberal voters who feel betrayed by Trudeau and are afraid of O'Leary. Besides, we still have a couple years of Trump being an idiot for Canadians to see that successful businessman =/= good politician.
[QUOTE=The golden;51763720]We're doomed next election. We're going to get our own maple-syrup flavoured Trump and everyone will vote for him because that is apparently a better alternative than Trudeau who is harmless in comparison.
But such is the cycle of elections swinging wildly back and fourth like pendulums.
[editline]2nd February 2017[/editline]
NDP Could do that but they need a new leader. Mulcair has no personality and no passion.[/QUOTE]
But he has a beard. #fearthebeard
I don't get it. Trudeau would literally benefit from removing first past the post since there are like 3 left wing parties and 1 right wing party.
Wait, Kevin is actually the new Conservative runner? When did this get announced
Canada's political future is looking very fucking grim.
I love this country with all my heart but I fear for it going forward.
Yeah there goes all the people from the NDP who voted for him in 2015.
All I hope is that Maxime Bernier beats O'Leary as the Conservative pick, he's got the best chances. We can't just accept that O'Leary will win the candidacy as an inevitability, we have to do our best to ensure that members of the Conservative Party know that he's just a selfish worm in it for himself. Already the gun owners bloc of the party hates him for his past comments that were pro-gun control, and the veterans in the party hate him for when he said "There's no honour in being a warrior."
A lot of the left seem to like Michael Chong, which means he's never going to win, because it means that he's a Red Tory.
I'm probably going to register as NDP so I can vote during the leadership elections, never joined a party before.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;51763936]I'm probably going to register as NDP so I can vote during the leadership elections, never joined a party before.[/QUOTE]
NDP isn't holding leadership elections, they're sticking with Angry Tom for 2019. If you want to vote in the Conservative leadership elections, you need to join the Conservative party, which technically you're not supposed to do if you don't actually support them, plus it costs $15.
And being from BC, even if I did vote Conservative it will mean nothing. We're a liberal dreadfort.
[QUOTE=The golden;51763960][url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democratic_Party_leadership_election,_2017[/url]
Unless I'm reading something wrong.[/QUOTE]
Well this is the first I've heard of this. Wow.
I can't in good conscience vote liberal again, they haven't done anything wrong in an egregious way, but I can't stand that BC is ignored, [B]again[/B]. We have crippling problems that we literally need the feds help at this point, we [B]have[/B] to oust the liberal party at a provincial level. Trudeau is fine, he's not great, but he's fine. It's the BC liberals that I find to be the most pathetic, and the most worthless, as a party. Christie Clark is a joke, every agency we have is a joke, everything we're doing is a joke at this point. ICBC, the provincial auto insurer, is a fucking piggy bank for the government to extract money whenever they need to post a surplus, up auto rates again, and have 0 options for people to do anything about that.
Federally, I'm okay with the liberals. Provincially, we literally cannot last another 5 years with them in power, and fucking everything up as direly as they have. They're such a bunch of self congratulatory do nothings that it's literally infuriating.
Pretty sure those who claim that they will not vote Liberals this 2019 made up their mind even before this was announced.
It was stupid to make such a bold promise but people didn't give a shit about electoral reform. I'm pretty sure none of you people even bothered to fill the survey on mydemocracy.ca (or perhaps never even heard of it)
[QUOTE=Chaitin;51764081]Pretty sure those who claim that they will not vote Liberals this 2019 made up their mind even before this was announced.
It was stupid to make such a bold promise but people didn't give a shit about electoral reform. I'm pretty sure none of you people even bothered to fill the survey on mydemocracy.ca (or perhaps never even heard of it)[/QUOTE]
If the government is going to make a push for electoral reform, and they set up an obscure survey few people know about, and fewer are referred to, it's a disingenuous attempt
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;51763866]Canada's political future is looking very fucking grim.
I love this country with all my heart but I fear for it going forward.[/QUOTE]
This seems to be a recurring trend around the world
The next elections are going to be my first time voting. Figures im going to get a shitshow for the first time :v:
Your Southern neighbor here. Please don't vote conservative. I don't know how radical right-wingers are in Canada, but the last thing the world needs is another person to encourage the pseudo-fascist American government, or follow in our footsteps.
From what I gather, Trudeau isn't the most loved Prime Minister you guys have had, but I think you should peak under the border and ask "is it really worth it?"
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;51764255]Your Southern neighbor here. Please don't vote conservative. I don't know how radical right-wingers are in Canada, but the last thing the world needs is another person to encourage the pseudo-fascist American government, or follow in our footsteps.
From what I gather, Trudeau isn't the most loved Prime Minister you guys have had, but I think you should peak under the border and ask "is it really worth it?"[/QUOTE]
You do know that just being in a conservative or republican party doesn't make you a neo nazi fascist demagogue by default right?
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;51764255]Your Southern neighbor here. Please don't vote conservative. I don't know how radical right-wingers are in Canada, but the last thing the world needs is another person to encourage the pseudo-fascist American government, or follow in our footsteps.
From what I gather, Trudeau isn't the most loved Prime Minister you guys have had, but I think you should peak under the border and ask "is it really worth it?"[/QUOTE]
Conservative isn't, and shouldn't be a dirty word.
Conservatives value fiscal policy, generally speaking.
My province doesn't need help on being more socially liberal. There are very, very, very few places globally more left wing than my home. We're fucked because of that over focus.
You want to know why Trump won? Over focus on issues that the majority didn't connect to. Not because the majority are racists, crazy, insane. If the left wants to recover from this loss, and start moving on, it has to get over that. It really is incredibly critical.
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;51764255]Your Southern neighbor here. Please don't vote conservative. I don't know how radical right-wingers are in Canada, but the last thing the world needs is another person to encourage the pseudo-fascist American government, or follow in our footsteps.
From what I gather, Trudeau isn't the most loved Prime Minister you guys have had, but I think you should peak under the border and ask "is it really worth it?"[/QUOTE]
America's definition of "conservatism" is very different from the rest of the world's. The Democrats would be right-wing anywhere but America.
[editline]1st February 2017[/editline]
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;51764059]I can't in good conscience vote liberal again, they haven't done anything wrong in an egregious way, but I can't stand that BC is ignored, [B]again[/B]. We have crippling problems that we literally need the feds help at this point, we [B]have[/B] to oust the liberal party at a provincial level. Trudeau is fine, he's not great, but he's fine. It's the BC liberals that I find to be the most pathetic, and the most worthless, as a party. Christie Clark is a joke, every agency we have is a joke, everything we're doing is a joke at this point. ICBC, the provincial auto insurer, is a fucking piggy bank for the government to extract money whenever they need to post a surplus, up auto rates again, and have 0 options for people to do anything about that.
Federally, I'm okay with the liberals. Provincially, we literally cannot last another 5 years with them in power, and fucking everything up as direly as they have. They're such a bunch of self congratulatory do nothings that it's literally infuriating.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like the Ontario Liberals, who have been fucking this province over for more than a decade because nobody's gonna vote NDP, and the Conservatives ran the most ridiculous campaign possible last election that caused them to lose the election that they were projected to win by a landslide.
[QUOTE=polarbear.;51763594]And Kevin O'Leary is running for conservative PM... which is basically a canadian Trump. We're in for one hell of a ride.[/QUOTE]
Oh for fuck's sake, only the dead can know peace from this political shitstorm we're getting ourselves wrapped up in.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;51764059]I can't in good conscience vote liberal again, they haven't done anything wrong in an egregious way, but I can't stand that BC is ignored, [B]again[/B]. We have crippling problems that we literally need the feds help at this point, we [B]have[/B] to oust the liberal party at a provincial level. Trudeau is fine, he's not great, but he's fine. It's the BC liberals that I find to be the most pathetic, and the most worthless, as a party. Christie Clark is a joke, every agency we have is a joke, everything we're doing is a joke at this point. ICBC, the provincial auto insurer, is a fucking piggy bank for the government to extract money whenever they need to post a surplus, up auto rates again, and have 0 options for people to do anything about that.
Federally, I'm okay with the liberals. Provincially, we literally cannot last another 5 years with them in power, and fucking everything up as direly as they have. They're such a bunch of self congratulatory do nothings that it's literally infuriating.[/QUOTE]
BC Liberals are the worst. I voted NDP last election, dunno who I'd vote for in a future election.
[QUOTE=polarbear.;51763594]I love how everyone's going 180 on Trudeau, blues are definitely gonna win next election.
And Kevin O'Leary is running for conservative PM... which is basically a canadian Trump. We're in for one hell of a ride.[/QUOTE]
he's pompous and pretty staunchly conservative sure but o'leary is not nearly as self destructive and xenophobic as trump is.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;51764409]BC Liberals are the worst. I voted NDP last election, dunno who I'd vote for in a future election.[/QUOTE]
thiiiiiis. y'all went around telling eachother to vote strategically and now we're right back where we were with another majority government that won't listen to the people because they control the house of commons. a minority government works better for the people.
I voted NDP last elections because my brother worked for them as an archive researcher (he's moved on to another job since) and he got to meet Tom personally. Also, he firmly believed in their cause.
I'm not surprised at all that the Liberals would drop this promise since they won with the old system but I'm wondering if it would have been any different had the NDP won. I'll text my brother about it, see what he thinks.
I'm afraid that Kevin O'leary might be our next PM, political trends in the west seem to be heading in that direction.
I voted Green because it was the equivalent to spoiling my vote.
I've so far had no qualms with the Trudeau Family's history of being a sitting PM while there was separatist violence in Quebec over whatever......that conservative [i]thing[/i] we used to have could of gotten us into.
Yeah, Trudeau's probably getting my vote again next time regardless. He's done a decent amount of good so far, and undone some of the damage we suffered under the last conservative administration. I'm not likely to want to risk that again.
Seems like Trudaeu gets a lot of shit because he hasn't fixed the country overnight or something.
Politics has always been about compromise, politicians who don't do that quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies.
Political reform would have been nice and it's disappointing that he wasn't able to follow through on it, but there's plenty of reasons why this happened.
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