Ron Johnson holds up Canada, the United States, Great Britain and India as successful examples of first-past-the-post electoral systems (Letters, Jan. 4). To which I respond: What is he talking about?
We just watched a bitterly contested election in the United States, in which an inexperienced clown-haired billionaire and part-time reality TV star was elected on a campaign of lies and racial discontent. He won because he appealed to the nearly one-half of the voters who felt disconnected from their government.
Over in Britain, a similar sentiment led to a Yes vote for Brexit and the resignation of the British prime minister. They are now looking at years of economic and political uncertainty on the horizon.
Here in Canada, huge numbers of frustrated and disengaged Canadians don’t even bother to vote. The result is that Trudeau’s government is no more a legitimate “majority” than Harper’s government was.
In all three cases, we are seeing time and money being wasted and global uncertainty as new governments promptly reverse the work of previous governments. I would instead suggest that these are perfect examples of why we need to abandon our current system.
Mike Laplante
Saanich