Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he remains open to getting rid of Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system if his party is re-elected, provided there’s more consensus on the issue — something he says was lacking in the past.
Trudeau says, however, that he would not favour proportional representation as an alternative, because it “gives more weight to smaller parties that are perhaps fringe parties.”
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Instead, he says a ranked ballot would be his preference because it contributes to less divisive elections.
The Liberal leader first raised the prospect of electoral reform in 2015 by promising that the federal election held that year would be the last to use the first-past-the-post method, a pledge he would ultimately renege on.
Trudeau was asked about the issue during a campaign stop in Aurora, Ont., today, shortly after his party announced it was cutting ties with a Toronto candidate who previously faced a sexual assault charge that was later dropped.
The party said Friday it had learned of the allegations against Kevin Vuong through a report in the Toronto Star a day earlier, and had asked him to “pause” his campaign.
But the party released a statement on Saturday saying Vuong won’t be a Liberal candidate anymore, and if he’s elected to represent Spadina-Fort York on Monday, he will not be a member of the Liberal caucus.
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Kevin Vuong out as Liberal candidate over dropped sexual assault charge, party says
Vuong denied the allegations against him in a statement Friday, and noted the charge was withdrawn.
Court documents confirm Vuong was charged with sexual assault in 2019 and that the charge was withdrawn later that year.
Spadina Fort-York was previously represented by Liberal Adam Vaughan, who is not running again in 2021.