So Trudeau called an election at a time when he’s likely to win it. OMG! Well, what do you expect? He’s a politician. He called an election for political reasons. All his opponents are complaining for political reasons. Mainly, because he’s likely to win it. As far as the average voter is concerned, at the moment there’s nothing you can do about it. Feels helpless, doesn’t it? Well, enjoy the feeling, because as long as you let the politicians run things their way, they are not going to change anything.
Why Not?
Because we have an outdated election format called First Past the Post. Now, in case it isn’t obvious, this expression comes from racing. It’s a great way to choose a winner. You have a contest, and whoever gets to the finish line first wins.
Winners and Losers
Canada’s problem is that we have too many people who watch too much sports. They have been brainwashed into thinking that the only way to choose anybody for anything is to have a competition and give the job to the winners. They see an election as a competition. It’s neat and tidy and you find out at the end of the night who won.
So we choose our leaders based on their ability to win a battle, when governing a country is all about compromise and cooperation. A First-Past-the-Post election has about as much validity in choosing a good government as an episode of The Apprentice had in hiring an effective business executive. First Past the Post is an efficient way of choosing a winner. If you’re organizing a hockey tournament, it works fine. But when it comes to choosing an appropriate group to lead a country, the skill set that wins election battles isn’t a great predictor of success.
Think about it. How much input does the audience have into who wins a hockey game? Well, they do a lot of shouting and screaming, and that’s about it. Like many of you are doing right now. The elite players go ahead and play their game, the referees keep it fair, and the coaches, general managers, and team owners tell us all how the league will be run. Once in a while, they pay lip service to their public image with the fans, who have no control of anything.
The Fans Are Out of the Loop
Sounds a bit like Canadian politics, doesn’t it? The political leaders play their political games and trade the power around among themselves, ignoring what the voters really want. And the parties obey their managers, because that’s who gets them elected, makes them a “winning team.”
The Solution?
It’s time the voters changed the balance of power. Under First Past the Post, 35-40% of the vote gives a party 100% of the power. 50% of the voters see their vote completely wasted. Under Proportional Representation, it takes a 51% majority of votes to get a majority government. Since that doesn’t happen very often, minority governments are the norm, and therefore more than one party has to agree in order to pass legislation.
“Oh, no,” the managers and owners say. “That means we’ll never get anything done.” And that’s exactly what we want. Because what they mean is, “We’ll never get our own agenda passed.” Their agenda, which is approved by only 40% of the voters. We have had a government for two years where over 50% of the voters were represented in every bill passed. How effective were they? Looking at how well Canada has done relative to the rest of the world in our COVID battle, we have little to complain about.
The Bottom Line
Think of an election as a job interview, where the voters are hiring people to manage the country for them. The only reason Trudeau called an election is that under First Past the Post he thinks he can get 40% of the vote and win a majority. Under Proportional Representation, he would have to get 50%, which he knows he can’t do, so he wouldn’t have called the election. You don’t want this kind of election? Help get rid of First Past the Post. Ask the candidates who come to your door about the National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. Take control of your government.
PS.
And those of you condemning Trudeau for having an election when your part of B. C is burning up? Your MPs are mostly Conservative. I suggest you ask them what their climate change strategy is.
And then go vote for someone who really cares. Your grandchildren with thank you.
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