Is electoral reform possible now?
It's very likely that the Liberals will have to work with the NDP to form government. Isn't it a no brainer for the NDP to make electoral reform a deal breaking issue?
Lack of proportional representation is what has led to their laughable 7 seats.
The liberals will find working with the bloc a lot harder than the NDP, so electoral reform seems like an acceptable deal from their end too, right?
Should we be excited for this?
Yes, we should be very excited! We must greatly pressure Mark Carney and the liberals to put their country first so we can improve our economy and ensure state stability with proportional representation. We must have a national citizen's assembly formed now to look at all the electoral systems to decide on the best one for the mps to work together to implement!
Absolutely, the vote splitting has cut both ways (all three ways, including the Bloc Quebecois). Three broadly left/centre-left parties are competing against a right that is, on the surface at least, united. All three of them stand to benefit from electoral reform in a way that the Conservatives do not.
Much of the Conservative strategy is around splitting the vote. In a post-electoral reform Canada, that strategy becomes useless and the Conservatives will have to bring something new. Their ability to pivot to a completely new strategy within a single election cycle is questionable, so getting this done is directly in Carney's interest right now.
Liberals are at most centre, or centre-right. The conservatives (or at least, most of the various factions within) and the Liberals are more compatible than the Liberals and the leftist parties. Evidence of this can be found in Sask, where the Liberals and the PCs amalgamated so they could collectively defeat the NDP. This is the far more natural arrangement. But since the conservative alliance and the LPC are the two largest parties nationally, the Liberals (and the leftists) are forced to accept strange bedfellows.
I would love to see it be their #1 demand. If they did it, it would probably mean you'd never see another Liberal majority, but I think there's a good chance that you'd see more left-leaning people elected. It goes against the interests of the Liberal party, but it might be in the interests of many of the things Liberals say they care about.
If it did pass, it would make voting "anybody but Conservative" much easier, which might really hurt the cons, which might cause them to split. That would be good too. Right now the conservatives are a bad alliance of small-government types who want to cut taxes and cut spending, and big-government types who want the government to go after anything they see as "woke" or "DEI". It would be much healthier if those two could be split from each-other.
They could also try working with the BQ since that party is in 3rd and has more seats than the NDP
This morning on CBC Radio the BQ are ecstatic to be a key player within a minority government and expressed that they are more than open to work with any party on Canadian interests that align with Québec's. With the tariffs affecting both Québec and the rest of Canada I think there is common ground for the near future where the Liberals work with the BQ. It's an interesting time to follow Canadian and Québec politics.
A few scattered thoughts on this:
Vote splitting felt very frustrating this election, but NDP can't afford another election yet, and they need space to rebrand and rebuild. I can't see them formally hitching themselves to the Liberals again right now. But hopefully they come to some backroom understandings in order to keep a stable government. And NDP voters who went Liberal this election are not going to be interested in threats to topple the government.
What's the best way to start this process? Other countries have done it, why aren't we? My riding is conservative so I'm not sure how to help here.
Fwiw PR would be better for moderate conservatives, because a separate centre-right party would be better able to work with the Liberals for stuff they want, whereas as it stands being coopted by the far right they're going to struggle to do anything without a majority. Depending on your MP's leanings you might be able to advocate for support.
The liberals will find working with the bloc a lot harder than the NDP
Please elaborate? I don't see this.
They will surely ask to change liberal view on controverdal bills like bill 96 and 21. I don't think liberals are ready to give up anglophones and muslims electorate
Isn’t it a no brainer for the NDP to make electoral reform a deal breaking issue?
No, because the NDP is more of a hostage to the current result than the Liberals. If another election happens in the short term, it’s more likely that the ridings they had NDP/Liberals splits will tilt towards Liberals than the opposite.
The NDP will have to be very very acquiescent in their “deal breaking issues” because of their fragile position.
And on the other hand, the Liberals are benefiting from FPTP, so that sailed ship is now approaching the horizon.
electoral reform seems like an acceptable deal from their end too, right?
I find it very unlikely. In practice, a two party system is good for them because they’re one of the two parties.
please, do...
Betteridge's law: no. The liberals were the smart choice this time but there is no reason for them change the rules that let them win.