To the editor,
I hate strategic voting and yet I have been forced to do it in this and the past federal election.
To not have Andrew Scheer as the next prime minister I am forced to vote Liberal, not that hard as their candidate is fine here in Central Nova, but, with him tagging along so to speak, I have to accept Justin Trudeau too.
I would like to be able to vote for the local candidate and the prime minister separately, not as a package. I would easily have two other better choices for prime minster but to prevent a Scheer government I must vote Liberal or split the vote and give the Conservatives an advantage. This system is a great advantage to the two old mainstream parties and almost assures one of them always wins. Just look at any past election counts and 60 per cent of the public voted against the “so called” winner.
In my younger days this was not such an issue as Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were so close you could hardly tell the difference but today with reform takeover of the old PCs there is a much bigger difference in philosophy.
And the two main parties know the system’s shortcomings and yet maintain the flawed system for that very reason. Last election Trudeau ran on the promise to implement change to the system, proportional representation to provide a fairer more accurate reflection of voter’s wishes. He dropped that like a hot potato as soon as he was elected simply because that is how he won and would most likely keep him in power next election. Even more pathetic is the fact that both main parties when in power have gerrymandered/adjusted districts to assure a better chance of them winning again. It is not simply the popular votes that count toward winning, it is seats!
The Americans have their electoral college and its similar flaws but at least they can pick a leader separately from a congressman or senator. Their two parties also rule by design and it never has been anything but those two taking turns ruling. Libertarians and independents are simply dreaming – they can’t win by design. Even Trump was smart enough to realize that to win you must run for one of the two main parties and he camouflaged himself as a Republican to do it.
We need electoral reforms badly but I truly doubt the two main parties will ever do it, as they would be shooting themselves in the foot – and they know it.
It’s almost like thinking Canada’s chartered banks will support changes to their privileged position and allow more banking competition. It just won’t happen!
Ron MacCarthy,
Caribou Island, N.S.
