Toronto--St. Paul's Federal By-Election
Taking a Stand for Political Renewal
The June 24 federal by-election in Toronto--St. Paul's was notable for the work of an array of forces to expose the dysfunctional and anti-democratic electoral process that violates the rights of citizens to participate in decision-making. A bold stand was made by those who participated in the Longest Ballot project and others who used the by-election to discuss issues of concern to the people, from electoral reform to housing and poverty to Canada's complicity in genocide against the Palestinian people. While a representative of the cartel parties "won" the election, concrete advances were made in the political struggle for electoral reform and democratic renewal in Canada.
Besides
the candidates of the cartel parties, there were 78
candidates registered to run. Of the 84 candidates on the
ballot, the
longest ballot in the history of Canadian federal elections,
those 78
were candidates representing small parties, the Marxist-Leninist
Party,
the Marijuana Party, the
Rhinoceros Party and the Centrist Party, and independents. The
very
fact that there were so many candidates and Elections Canada had
to
come up with a ballot 90cm long and 30cm wide was a physical
manifestation of the desire of Canadians for electoral reform.
The aims of the organizers of the Longest Ballot Project clearly resonated with the 12,543 people in the riding who signed the nominations papers for their candidates, reflecting the sentiment of people to break with the status quo and support a different approach to participating in the elections. One proposal of the Longest Ballot Project is for the creation of a Constituent Assembly to come up with a new electoral law. This would allow Canadians to decide what kind of electoral system they want which would not be a system that allows a political party to "win" and govern with the votes of as few as 17 per cent of eligible voters, in which the voters are disenfranchised when they vote without any way to hold those elected accountable.
During the by-election, The Marxist Leninist Supplement stated: "The Longest Ballot Project is a courageous and significant expression that Canadians are not only demanding democratic renewal but taking practical steps to enable themselves to make it so, including building their organizational capacity to make themselves heard."
The Longest Ballot Project was presented in the media as a
novelty at best and a nuisance at worst including the fact that
the
results on election night were held up because of size of the
ballot
meant only 100 ballots fit per ballot box as opposed the usual
1,000,
meaning more boxes to process, and so on. However, in the
door-to-door
work that MLPC carried out in the riding to popularize its
candidate
and the Longest Ballot Project, many people expressed enthusiasm
for
the initiative designed to bring attention to the need to change
the
first-past-the-post method of counting votes.
TML congratulates all the candidates and the organizers of the Longest Ballot Project, and MLPC candidate Meñico Turcotte for their courageous work during the elections to open up the space for electoral and democratic renewal so that it is the people who are empowered to choose and elect their own peers to public office, not the cartel parties who champion the interests of the rich. The results that were achieved bode well for the upcoming by-election in the riding of Verdun in Quebec and also for the 2025 federal elections.
During the by-election, of the 84,934 registered voters, 36,954 voted, giving a participation rate of 43.51 per cent. The candidates from the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Green Party garnered 40.48 per cent of the eligible vote which means that 59.52 per cent did not vote for them, refused to vote and over a thousand voters voted for the independents and small party candidates who were part of the Longest Ballot Project. As well, 590 voters signed the pledge initiated by Toronto–St. Paul's for Palestine not to vote for candidates who refused to take a stand for a ceasefire and the rights of the Palestinian people.
The "winner" Conservative Don Stewart, a Bay Street banker and champion of militarism, won with the votes of 15,565, 18.32 per cent of those eligible to vote, which was, according to the mainstream media, a "stunning victory" over the Liberal candidate Leslie Church who got 14,932, 633 votes less than the "winner."
The initiative taken by the non-partisan group Toronto--St. Paul's for Palestine was to use the by-election to put the issue of Canada's support for Israel in front of voters and demand the cartel party candidates take a stand on the matter of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians. True to form, the cartel party candidates sidestepped the issue, giving vague answers or tried to divert from the question posed, wringing their hands over what they say is increasing anti-Semitism in Toronto. TML congratulates the activists from Toronto--St. Paul's for Palestine for going all out to put the U.S./Israeli genocide in Palestine and Canada's complicity on the agenda.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 6 - July 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M5400615.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca