<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div>No, I'm sorry, I do not see a poll where the majority of people support FPTP.<br><br></div>I see a poll where a plurality support a government's decision. I see 17 percent do not know what they think on electoral reform.<br><br></div>"I don't know" is not the same as "I like FPTP". It isn't the same whether they answer "I don't know" or whether they don't respond. Mostly, it means they are not informed on the issue, so leave the decision to others.<br><br></div>The great news about this poll is that 38% ARE already informed on this issue, so we've gotten that far.<br><br></div>The other thing is the number of people who support PR, but also support a government who believes now is not a good time. This includes most Liberal for Fair Voting people; specifically Brenden, Philip, and Sherri Iona. Lots more of course.<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 12:15 PM, Anita Nickerson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:anitann88@gmail.com" target="_blank">anitann88@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">You've just forgotten it, Jenn (welcome to my memory world). They had to produce something at the right time that contradicted all the evidence of months and years (which they hurried to bury as fast as they could), so they put out a question so vague that most people who picked up the phone wouldn't know if they were talking about still voting by secret ballot in your local gym with pencils. Then they said that meant people like FPTP. Then they misled MPs to say this is what Canadians think. I am sure even Bardish was quoting this poll.<br><br>Anita<br><br><div><div style="border-right:none;border-bottom:none;border-left:none;border-top:1pt solid rgb(225,225,225);padding:3pt 0cm 0cm"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><b>Subject:</b> HillTimes article regarding <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voting</span> reform</span></p></div></div><div id="m_190995481470358925gmail-m_3117000517420358856divtagdefaultwrapper"><div><div><div><h1 style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:24pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">More Canadians favour keeping first-past-the-post than don’t, except in B.C.: <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">poll</span><u></u><u></u></span></h1><div><h2 style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:18pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Well-off, highly-educated <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> lean towards electoral reform.<u></u><u></u></span></h2></div></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><img id="m_190995481470358925gmail-m_3117000517420358856_x0000_i1025" src="https://www.hilltimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/GouldSM.jpg" class="m_190995481470358925gmail-CToWUd m_190995481470358925gmail-a6T"><u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, pictured earlier this year, announced Feb. 1 that the Liberal government wouldn't pursue its campaign promise to change the electoral system. <i>The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright</i><u></u><u></u></span></p></div></div></div><div><div><p><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">By PETER MAZEREEUW<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">PUBLISHED : Thursday, March 9, 2017 4:51 PM<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><div id="m_190995481470358925gmail-m_3117000517420358856restrictContent"><div id="m_190995481470358925gmail-m_3117000517420358856contentBody"><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">More Canadians support the government’s decision not to change Canada’s <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voting</span> system than oppose it, a new <a href="http://poll.forumresearch.com/post/2678/voting-system" target="_blank"><span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">poll</span></a> suggests.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Toronto-based Forum Research asked 1,340 Canadian <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> across the country if they <span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,0)">“support the federal government’s decision to keep Canadian <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voting</span> <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">procedures</span> the same”</span> between Feb. 24 and 26. A plurality, 45 per cent, said that they do, while 38 per cent said they do not, and 17 per cent said they weren’t sure.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">Voters</span> who want Canada’s electoral system changed are more likely to be well educated, highly paid, and support the smallest parties in the House, the results of the automated phone survey indicated.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">They are also in the minority everywhere except in B.C.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"> <u></u><u></u></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p></div><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">The <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">poll</span> results were weighted to be representative of Canada’s population and are considered accurate within three per cent, 19 times out of 20 for the total sample size, while sub-samples are less accurate, according to the <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">polling</span> firm.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">“The plurality of people surveyed favour keeping the current first-past-the-post system; still, almost four in ten disagree with the decision keep it, so it’s not an expansive margin,” Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research president, was quoted as saying in the firm’s <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">poll</span> release. “It will be worth watching to see if the opposition can use electoral reform as a wedge issue to drive <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> away from the Liberals.”<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">More respondents agreed with keeping the current system than disagreed in Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and the Prairies, including Alberta, where support for keeping the current <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voting</span> system was strongest, at 53 per cent (34 per cent said no, while 13 per cent said they didn’t know in that province.)<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Next door in B.C., it was a different story. Just 37 per cent said they agreed with the decision not to change Canada’s electoral system, while 44 per cent said they did not agree, and 19 per cent said they didn’t know.<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"> <u></u><u></u></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p></div><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">The Liberal government was elected on a promise to change Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system before the next federal election in 2019. Under the current system, electoral districts are won by whoever gets the most <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">votes</span>. In a three-plus-party system, that means parties can, and do, win powerful majority governments with support from less than half of those who <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voted</span>, leading some to criticize the system as unfair or unrepresentative of the public’s will.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">The Liberals reversed themselves on that promise after rocketing from third-party status to a 184-seat majority government in 2015, winning 39.5 per cent of the <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">vote</span>. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and his cabinet ministers defended the decision not to change the electoral system by saying that they believed there was no consensus among Canadians for a new system.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">The Forum Research <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">poll</span> showed that Conservative and Liberal supporters were almost equally likely to support the government’s decision, with 53 and 54 per cent, respectively, saying they did, while 33 and 31 per cent said they did not, and 14 and 16 per cent said they didn’t know.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">The opposite was true of Green, NDP, and Bloc Québécois supporters. Only about a quarter of those who preferred the Greens (24 per cent) and NDP (25 per cent) supported the government’s decision, while 40 per cent of Bloc supporters did, in each case fewer than those who opposed it. Supporters of other parties were also more likely to oppose the government’s decision (41 per cent) than support it (23 per cent).<u></u><u></u></span></p><div style="font-size:12.8px"><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p></div><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">More Canadians supported the government’s decision than did not in the 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and above-65 age brackets, with support highest among the oldest bracket at 54 per cent in favour, 29 per cent against, and 16 per cent unsure.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Young <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> aged 18-34, however, were more likely to oppose the government’s decision to keep the <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voting</span> system the same. Thirty-six per cent agreed with the decision while 46 per cent did not, and 17 per cent were unsure.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Respondents earning between $80,000 and $100,000 per year were more likely to oppose the status quo (41 per cent) than support it (38 per cent). Those earning between $100,000 and $250,000 were evenly split at 44 per cent for and against, and those in the remaining income brackets were more likely to support the government’s decision. That support was strongest among those earning less than $20,000 per year, at 51 per cent, with 26 per cent opposed, and 23 per cent saying they didn’t know.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">Voters</span> who had completed college or university were more likely to oppose the government’s reversal (44 per cent) than support it (42 per cent), and opposition was stronger among those who had completed postgraduate studies, with 46 per cent against, 39 per cent for, and 14 per cent unsure.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Conversely, exactly half of <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> with a high school education or less said they supported the government’s decision, while 22 per cent opposed it, and 27 per cent said they didn’t know. Fifty-one per cent of <span class="m_190995481470358925gmail-il">voters</span> with some college or university supported the decision, while 32 per cent did not, and 17 per cent said they didn’t know.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p style="font-size:12.8px;text-align:center" align="center"><i><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><span style="font-style:normal"><a href="mailto:peter@hilltimes.com" target="_blank">peter@hilltimes.com</a></span></span></i><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p><div><i><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><br></span></i></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 12:02 PM, Jennifer Ross <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:2jennross@gmail.com" target="_blank">2jennross@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">No, I don't know of this forum poll. But if they have something to hang their hat on, okay then.<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div><div class="m_190995481470358925h5"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 11:52 AM, Anita Nickerson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:anitann88@gmail.com" target="_blank">anitann88@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Remember as soon as Trudeau canned PR they paid I think it was Forum to run a poll asking if people "supported the government to retain voting procedures" or something like that and most said yes, then the government MPs went around saying people like FPTP. That's probably where he's getting his information, just like they wanted. Yes, ask for his sources :)<span class="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><div>Anita</div></font></span></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984h5">On Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 8:29 AM, David Dolson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ddolson@golden.net" target="_blank">ddolson@golden.net</a>></span> wrote:<br></div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div class="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984h5"><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);line-height:initial" lang="en-US"> <div style="width:100%;font-size:initial;font-family:Calibri,'Slate Pro',sans-serif,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125);text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">I am writing to him.</div><div style="width:100%;font-size:initial;font-family:Calibri,'Slate Pro',sans-serif,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125);text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div> <div style="width:100%;font-size:initial;font-family:Calibri,'Slate Pro',sans-serif,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125);text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br style="display:initial"></div> <div style="font-size:initial;font-family:Calibri,'Slate Pro',sans-serif,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125);text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">-Dave</div> <table style="background-color:white;border-spacing:0px" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size:initial;text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> <div style="border-style:solid none none;border-top-color:rgb(181,196,223);border-top-width:1pt;padding:3pt 0in 0in;font-family:Tahoma,'BB Alpha Sans','Slate Pro';font-size:10pt"> <div><b>From: </b>Anita Nickerson</div><div><b>Sent: </b>Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:45 AM</div><div><b>To: </b>FVC Waterloo Region Discussion</div><div><b>Reply To: </b>FVC Waterloo Region Discussion</div><div><b>Subject: </b>[fvc-wat-disc] Column by Geoffrey Stevens</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984m_5402169957200836475h5"><div style="border-style:solid none none;border-top-color:rgb(186,188,209);border-top-width:1pt;font-size:initial;text-align:initial;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"></div><br><div id="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984m_5402169957200836475m_-4241277676947442234_originalContent"><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7490755-time-for-trudeau-to-get-back-to-work/" target="_blank">https://www.therecord.com/opin<wbr>ion-story/7490755-time-for-tru<wbr>deau-to-get-back-to-work/</a><br></div><div><br></div>When somebody says something that you can 100% objectively verify is untrue, can we not ask for some kind of correction?<div><br></div><div><i><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:17.6px">the largest number said they thought they preferred the existing first-past-the-post system, perhaps with tweaks. </span><br></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:17.6px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">This columnist has not even looked at the report of the ERRE, showing 87% of the public were for PR. He obviously heard what some Liberal MP said and took that as a fact. Which is exactly what they want - to rewrite history so everybody thinks that's what came out of the report.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Here are stats from the ERRE: </span><font color="#333333" face="UniversLTStd Cn, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.fairvote.ca/strong-mandate/" target="_blank">http://www.fairvote.ca/s<wbr>trong-mandate/</a></font></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"UniversLTStd Cn",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Anita</span></div></div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br></div></div><span>-- <br><div class="m_190995481470358925m_-8720239599646731984gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10px;background-color:transparent;font-style:normal"><span><font color="#888888"><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">No other Western democratic country concentrates as much political power </span></span></font><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">in the hands of one person as Canada does with her Prime Minister. </span></span></font></font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10px;background-color:transparent;font-style:normal"><span><font color="#888888"><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">No other Western democratic country concentrates as much political power </span></span></font><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">in the hands of one person as Canada does with her Prime Minister. </span></span></font></font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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