Like all major issues, this one is going to need to be won in advance of the election. So we need to do our work in and outside of the house on it -- to argue for it, to set out our alternative clearly, and to build a coalition who are with us on it. Much as this kind of reform was achieved in advance of elections and votes in other jurisdictions (like NZ).
The New Zealand example is very appropriate. The Report of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System which first recommended New Zealand adopt the Mixed Member Proportional voting system was submitted to the Governor-General on 11 December 1986. It was not until 1992 and 1993 that New Zealanders decided to change to MMP, but the basis was laid in 1986. Just as, in Canada, the basis has been laid by the Report of the Law Commission of Canada published in March 2004. But since it wasn't a Royal Commission (although the Law Commission did just as much work as a Royal Commission including about 16 public hearings), we'll need to talk about it a bit more, eh?
. . . many Liberal strategists spelled out why during a discussion about similar ideas a year and a half ago. They argue that if there is no Liberal candidate, something like 50% of the Liberal vote votes Conservative.
Blue Liberals love to say that. The evidence is the opposite. On April 28 and 29, 2011, after the Liberals had slipped to third place in the polls, Angus Reid asked how voters would feel about various scenarios. On “The Conservatives win more seats than any other single party, but the Liberals and the NDP have more combined seats than the Conservatives. The Liberals and the NDP form a coalition government” they found 78% of Liberal voters liked it, 17% did not, and 5% were not sure. On “The Conservatives win more seats than any other single party, and form a minority government’ they found only 20% of Liberals liked it, while 76% did not. Of all voters planning to vote Liberal, only 13% said they would never consider voting NDP.
This doesn't mean an electoral alliance would work. It does mean we can get a lot of folks to vote for us who have voted Liberal in the past, doesn't it?
