Fred, can you do a post on what the “electoral reform group” is trying to do? Is NOW the time to stress test the Canadian electoral system? I can see the Trumpers having a field day with this. There are so many misleading provocative stories about Canada now!
Joanna... great question, and you’re right to flag it.
What that “electoral reform group” is doing is basically a pressure tactic.
They flood the ballot with candidates on purpose to expose weaknesses in the system... things like ballot design, vote counting, and how results get challenged.
In plain English… they’re not trying to win.
They’re trying to break the process enough that people pay attention to it.
Now... is this the right moment to stress test the system?
That’s the real debate.
On one hand, systems should be strong enough to handle pressure.
On the other… doing it in a razor-thin race where a single seat could matter?
That’s where it gets risky.
And you nailed the bigger problem...
bad actors (especially south of the border) don’t care about nuance.
They’ll take something complex…
strip it down to “Canada’s elections are broken”…
and run with it.
I’ll do a full breakdown post on this... there’s more going on here than most people realize.
These ballots are the result of the first past the post system. The electoral system needs to be reformed. Political parties need to learn to work cooperatively or by consensus. FPTP encourages politicians to vote party, not country.
Fred, can you do a post on what the “electoral reform group” is trying to do? Is NOW the time to stress test the Canadian electoral system? I can see the Trumpers having a field day with this. There are so many misleading provocative stories about Canada now!
Joanna... great question, and you’re right to flag it.
What that “electoral reform group” is doing is basically a pressure tactic.
They flood the ballot with candidates on purpose to expose weaknesses in the system... things like ballot design, vote counting, and how results get challenged.
In plain English… they’re not trying to win.
They’re trying to break the process enough that people pay attention to it.
Now... is this the right moment to stress test the system?
That’s the real debate.
On one hand, systems should be strong enough to handle pressure.
On the other… doing it in a razor-thin race where a single seat could matter?
That’s where it gets risky.
And you nailed the bigger problem...
bad actors (especially south of the border) don’t care about nuance.
They’ll take something complex…
strip it down to “Canada’s elections are broken”…
and run with it.
I’ll do a full breakdown post on this... there’s more going on here than most people realize.
Elections need trust and clarity not stress testing exercises.
These ballots are the result of the first past the post system. The electoral system needs to be reformed. Political parties need to learn to work cooperatively or by consensus. FPTP encourages politicians to vote party, not country.
Mary... I hear what you’re saying, and you’re not wrong about the bigger conversation.
First-past-the-post absolutely creates pressure points...
• Parties fight to win, not collaborate
• Votes get split
• Outcomes don’t always reflect the full popular will
That’s been debated in Canada for years.
But here’s where I’d separate the issues…
Electoral reform is a long-term structural question.
What we’re looking at right now is a short-term execution problem.
Even if you believe FPTP should go...
you still want whatever system we’re using today to be:
• clear
• simple
• easy to count
• trusted by everyone
That’s the line for me.
Changing how ballots are filled out...
especially in a race that could come down to a handful of votes...
isn’t really reform.
It’s introducing uncertainty into an already tight situation.
And once people start questioning how votes are interpreted…
you don’t get cooperation... you get conflict.
Different problem. Same risk.
Good Lord!!!! If we all hold our breath, no one will have energy enough to vote! Then what?
Thanks so much for sharing 👍
This sounds like a deperate MAGA plan. Who’s funding those electoral idiots?