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Deadline for MyDemocracy.ca survey on electoral reform extended to January 15

This deadline has now been extended to January 15, 2017!

Tomorrow (December 30) is the deadline to respond to the federal government’s survey on electoral reform.


CTV has reported, “The Liberal government’s increasingly ambiguous stance on electoral reform continued [on December 5] with the launch of an online survey that has already sparked intense backlash on social media. MyDemocracy.ca asks Canadians a series of questions about voting preferences and values. The approximately $250,000 survey, which is being conducted by Toronto-based Vox Pop Labs, will be available until Dec. 30.”


The article highlights, “The new survey — which asks respondents to rank their level of agreement with statements like ‘A ballot should be easy to understand, even if it means voters have fewer options to express their preferences’ and ‘Canadians should have the option to cast their vote online in federal elections, even if it is less secure’ — has already been criticized for being confusing, leading, repetitious and even overtly partisan. Nowhere, moreover, does the survey directly ask Canadians if they support proportional representation over first-past-the-post. Whether or not one supports a referendum on the issue of electoral reform — something that opposition MPs have been demanding — is also decidedly absent from the online poll.”


That said, Unifor has condensed an analysis provided by Fair Vote Canada to help you navigate the survey and demonstrate to the federal government that you want proportional representation. There are 20 questions in the survey and these are eight key questions related to proportional representation:


Q- There should be parties in Parliament that represent the views of all Canadians, even if some are radical or extreme.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Q- There should be greater diversity of views in Parliament.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Q- It is better for several parties to have to govern together than for one party to make all the decisions in government, even if it takes longer for government to get things done.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Q- Governments should have to negotiate their policy decisions with other parties in Parliament, even it is less clear who is accountable for the resulting policy.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Q- A ballot should be easy to understand even if it means voters have fewer options to express their preferences.

A- To support proportional representation, consider answering disagree or strongly disagree. This show you favour more voter choice.


Q- It should always be clear which party is accountable for decisions made by government, even if this means that decisions are only made by one party.

A- To support proportional representation, considering answering disagree or strongly disagree.


Q- Voters should be able to express multiple preferences on the ballot.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Q- A party that wins the most seats in an election should still have to compromise with other parties.

A- Answering “strongly agree” supports proportional representation.


Following a preferences section, there is a priorities section in which you could choose to highlight the following choices to support proportional representation:

– Governments that collaborate with other parties in Parliament.

– Strengthening the link between voter intention and the election of representatives.

– Governments that consider all viewpoints before making a decision.

– Increasing voter turnout.

– Government with strong representation in every region.

– Better representation of groups that are currently underrepresented in Parliament.

– Increasing the presence of smaller parties in Parliament.

To complete the survey, please click here. For the Unifor backgrounder on how to answer the questions to support proportional representation, click here. It takes about 5-minutes to complete the survey.

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