The image is an infographic titled “The Liberal’s Broken Promise: Electoral Reform” that displays a vertical timeline with colored dots and information boxes chronicling electoral reform events in Canada.
The timeline shows six key events:
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June 2015 (pink dot): Campaign Promise - Justin Trudeau pledges: “We are committed to ensuring the 2015 election will be the last election using first-past-the-post.”
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October 2015 (blue dot): Election Victory - Liberals win a majority government with 39.5% of the popular vote, securing 184 seats (54% of the House of Commons).
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June 2016 (light blue dot): Special Committee Created - The Electoral Reform Committee (ERRE) is established to study options. The committee conducts consultations across Canada.
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December 2016 (red dot): Committee Recommendations - The ERRE recommends proportional representation. 88% of electoral experts consulted favoured proportional representation.
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February 2017 (blue dot): Promise Abandoned - PM Trudeau abandons electoral reform, claiming “no consensus” despite clear committee recommendations and public consultations.
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October 2024 (black dot): Looking Back - Trudeau admits he should have “immediately shut down talk about proportional representation” and that Liberals were “deliberately vague.”
Below the timeline is a “Key Statistics” box showing:
- 63% of voters cast ballots for parties promising electoral reform
- 80% of town hall participants asked for proportional representation
- 71% wanted parties to govern together
The infographic includes a Creative Commons license icon in the bottom left corner and a QR code in the bottom right. The footer cites sources: House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform, Fair Vote Canada, Policy Options.
While I appreciate the point about immediate geopolitical concerns, I’d argue that our democratic weaknesses make us more vulnerable to external threats, not less.
A country that is governed by its people, and truly so with proportional representation, is the strongest force there can be against an authoritarian takeover. It provides true and uncompromising democratic legitimacy to the government – as a healthy democracy demands.
This isn’t just about Trudeau - it’s about a pattern across Liberal leadership (since Mackenzie King in 1919) of promising proportional representation then abandoning it once in power. Now Mark Carney continues this tradition with his non-committal stance on electoral reform despite his economic expertise.
The timing is actually perfect for this discussion. When facing external threats, we need a strong, legitimate democracy where every Canadian’s vote counts. Our current system regularly allows minority governments to rule for the majority, creating democratic vulnerabilities that potential adversaries can exploit.
The solution to threats isn’t less democracy - it’s making our democracy stronger through proportional representation. That’s not yesterday’s news; it’s tomorrow’s national security.
We’re facing a very real threat to our very existence. Splitting the votes in the middle and left will only guarantee that the conservatives win.
Also, I don’t trust anyone who won’t get security clearance, seriously what is he hiding?
I understand the concern about threats to Canada - that’s precisely why we need a stronger democracy, not a weaker one.
The “vote splitting” fear is exactly what keeps our broken system in place. Under proportional representation, this wouldn’t be an issue - your vote would actually count toward electing someone who represents your values.
On security clearances, I agree they’re important. They should be administered by an independent body with transparent criteria and applied equally to all candidates. This isn’t contradictory to electoral reform - they’re complementary.
A country with true democratic legitimacy, where every vote matters, is actually more resilient against external threats, not less. Fixing our democracy strengthens our sovereignty, it doesn’t weaken it.
Security clearance should not be administered by any independent anything. It needs to be done by the intelligence arm of the government that has access to everything they need to access. Any candidate that won’t apply should not be able to run. Period.
What party do you think who has any chance of forming a majority government will fix our broken FPTP electoral system?
