Many people were frustrated and angry when the federal Liberals broke their 2015 campaign promise that electoral reform would happen before the next election. Dave Meslin, community activist and organizer from Toronto, decided that it was only a setback. He’s continued doing his research and organizing people to fight for proportional representation.
On December 1, he launched a Kickstarter campaign with Unlock Democracy Canada, a non-partisan organization for democratic renewal and political transformation. Called “Time to Topple,” the goal of the new project is to create a roadmap to reform municipal electoral processes and reclaim city halls across the country. The campaign exceeded its goal of $15,000. The research will draw from lessons learned in London, Ontario, which is the first municipality in Canada to adopt a ranked balloting system in its city elections.
Meslin is a longtime proportional representation advocate. Among his many activities, he founded the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto. In 2019, he released the book Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up, which covers his accumulated experience to date around his three main themes of concern “billboards, bicycles and ballots,” especially advocating for an intelligent redesign of our governance systems.
Dave Meslin spoke to Victoria Fenner, rabble’s executive producer of podcasts.
Image: “Time to Topple” campaign graphic. Used with permission.
