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Vox Populi: The NDP Leadership Contest
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 9:34pm

 

The leadership contest to succeed the late Jack Layton has attracted an unprecedented degree of interest. When membership numbers in the party were released almost five weeks ago, a record number of 128,351 people had joined - a 50% increase since October, 2011.

With seven leadership candidates repeatedly crisscrossing the country, a series of six national debates to expose Canadians to their ideas and policies, and a preferential voting system, drawing a bead on the standing of the candidates in the race has proved a complex undertaking. There are several approaches each of which can yield certain insights into the standing of the candidates.

The Case for NDP, Liberal, Green Cooperation
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 8:48pm

Political and electoral reform are amongst the most critical issues on the Canadian agenda. How can we achieve better governance, ramp down zero-sum, hyper-partisan, wedge politics that polarizes society and fails spectacularly in developing solutions to critical social, environmental, and political issues? How can Canadian democracy, crumbling at the edges and under assault from various directions, be improved through the development of constructive mechanisms of cooperation between parties, and through electoral reform? Could political cooperation work? Could it make a substantive difference in the composition of the House of Commons?

Do Canadians want political cooperation?
Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 9:34am

Do Canadians want political cooperation? According to a new survey by Leadnow.ca, the answer is a resounding "yes". Leadnow proposed the following proposition to electors:

"I call on the opposition party leaders to support political cooperation for electoral reform. During the next federal election, the NDP, Liberals and Greens should work together in key ridings to defeat Conservative incumbents. After the election, they should cooperate to pass electoral reform and make sure our government better reflects the values and priorities of all Canadians."

Leadnow.ca asked Canadians whether they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed. The results? Out of a total of 9,173 respondents, 73% strongly agreed and 22% agreed. A whopping 95% of respondents want progressive Canadian political parties to cooperate in defeating the Conservatives and to work together to implement electoral reform.

Joint nominations and electoral reform: defending Canadian values
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - 3:25pm

In this guest editorial, Project Democracy welcomes Nathan Cullen, the Member of Parliament from Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC, and a candidate for leadership of the New Democratic Party. Below is Nathan's guest editorial for Project Democracy: Joint nominations and electoral reform: defending Canadian values.

Voters, polling, and Canadian democracy: where have all the flowers gone?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - 9:09am

Ekos study provides insights from the 2011 election

The 2011 election may be remembered for many remarkable events, not the least of which was its outcome which surprised pollsters, pundits, and parties to say nothing of voters themselves. Many were left scratching their heads, including the polling gurus who (in theory) should have had the best information and insights of anyone. 

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