Voting Matters Canada Example

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Justin Trudeau is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and also the Prime Minister. He displayed traces of individualism, when he called a snap general election in 2021, when the country was still hurting from the 2020 pandemic.

Why an election? Trudeau’s Liberals had 155 seats in the federal  government called the House of Commons. A party needs 170 seats to form a majority government. Because of the 155 seats, Trudeau was ruling with a minority government and that is restrictive. He had to go next door to borrow some sugar or salt.

Trudeau remembered the glory days in 2015, where he cooked a whole meal by himself because he won 184 seats. It was quite a feat: first time running and he won a majority government. It was reminiscent of Barack Obama, the 44th U.S. President.

But, Trudeau had no business calling a snap election in 2021 after COVID-19, just to get a majority again. There was no need because opposition parties supported him in his pandemic initiatives. Well! Did he get the 170 votes he wanted to form a majority government? No. He had 155 seats when he called the 2021 vanity election. He gained five more, but it was back to square one. No majority.

What’s your point? My point is, voting matters. Justin Trudeau listened to undemocratic instruments called polls. Canadians kept quiet and voted on 20 September 2021. The vote was anger at Trudeau for trying to push individualism over the collective. Americans are just like Canadians. They want what is good for the country, not an individual, any individual.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

 

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