It should be made clear that Trudeau still rejects proportional representation—a system where parties get seats based on their vote percentage—and continues to partially blame opposition parties for his own inaction. He still prefers a ranked ballot system—where you number your preferred candidates in order on your ballot—which would not have made “every vote count” as he pledged in 2015. A recent article from NDP MP Matthew Green and Joseph Gubbels showcases Trudeau’s flawed approach to reform.
Because every time the NDP has tried to push electoral reform, voters tell them they don’t care about the party’s pet project. It comes across as tone deaf and academic when they push it.
Basically, the electorate does not like the NDP, and they cannot push any idea that actually makes the country structurally better without being burried in bad faith arguments. And they’ve become very responsive to bad faith arguments in the last 15 - 20 years or so.
I would assert that the best the NDP have done has been through influencing a minority red government toward a goal that helps us all. The beginnings of the dental plan was awesome, for instance.
… which makes the current abandonment of the only coat-tails they can ride seem pretty stupid. Why, if you have only the play where you make the reds be kind because you’ll never have the PM seat nor the opposition seat yourself, do you then kill your golden goose?
Because when everyone knows that your only play is to support the reds, then the reds themselves know that they can abuse that desperation, renege on deals with you, etc. After all, what other plays do you have?
Dropping the deal is short-term disadvantageous, but by establishing a reputation for punishing allies who don’t uphold their end of a bargain, they can be more influential in the future.
