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By: James Winter
In 2025, we face a federal election, and quite possibly an Ontario election.
More than a half-billion dollars will be spent on the next federal election, on the election apparatus. Additionally, $80 million will be spent on marketing and advertising individuals and parties. The Liberal leadership race now underway requires a $350,000 entrance fee.
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Increasingly, we hear slogans and sound bites, devoid of policy.
It seems to many of us that elections are remote and elected politicians are from — or quickly absorbed into — the status quo. Political decisions, consequently, do not reflect the views of average citizens.
Some people who run are power-hungry. Their intention is not to serve the best interests of the public. Their decisions are self-serving.
We feel the system is not democratic — and it is not. Democracy means majority rule.
But let’s use the example of Ontario. Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives received 40.8% of the vote in 2022. In other words, almost 60% of those who voted, chose another party. Yet, the PCs won 67% of the seats — a majority government. This is owing to our first-past-the-post system.
Federally, we elect a party, and after successive victories we opt for seemingly the only other choice, the other party. Currently, we’re switching the Liberals for the Conservatives. Federally, that’s all we’ve ever done: Liberals, Conservatives, Liberals again …
A system using proportional representation, which most of the world uses, would make things more democratic. But what else could we do?
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In ancient Athenian democracy, ‘sortition’ — or simple random selection — was the primary method of choosing politicians, as it was thought to be more democratic than elections, which tend to favour the well-to-do. Sortition is how we choose our jurors, who can rule on people’s lives.
All Canadians over 18 would be eligible, subject to a civics test such as we give new citizens. Everyone has an equal chance. Those chosen would come from all walks of life. In 2019, 11 of 37 in the Trudeau cabinet were lawyers.
Randomly chosen politicians lead more democratically, as they feel more commitment to the social good.
And without election campaigns — no opportunities for special interests, such as big business, to run things.
James Winter is a professor emeritus at the University of Windsor
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