Category: Electoral Reform

CKMS Meet The Candidate

Cambridge Greens: Vote Lux Burgess

“I’m running because my family’s future—and the future of all families—means everything to me. I want my loved ones to grow up in a world that’s safe, healthy, and full of opportunity. But with rising costs, and growing inequality, that future is at risk.

“I can’t just sit back and hope things get better—I want to be part of the solution. That’s why I’m fighting for real climate action, a fair economy, and stronger support for families.

“This isn’t just politics — it’s personal. It’s about protecting the people and places we love for generations to come.”
— Lux Burgess, 2025 Cambridge Green Party candidate

Even though time constraints prevented Lux from making it onto CKMS this time around, you can still catch his appearance in the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Debate below. I especially like the fact that we’re *still* talking about #Electoral Reform. And that the lack of it inspires excellent candidates like Lux Burgess to seriously challenge complacent incumbents like MP Bryan May. https://luxburgess.ca/campaign/index.php/blog/

Hey Kitchener Centre: don’t forget to ReElect Mike Morrice!

If you haven’t already voted at one of the Advance Polls, do not forget Monday, April 28th, 2025 is ELECTION DAY 2025.  Just because you know Mike Morrice is the best Member of Parliament Kitchener Centre has ever had, it is no reason to be complacent.  

Not so long ago, an incumbent city councillor in this very community lost an election by a single vote. It wasn’t even that people felt it was tie for a change. It was that everyone expected her to be re-elected by a landslide, that her voters felt no real sense of urgency to get out and vote.

One vote is really the difference between winning and losing representation in countries still using terrible winner-take-all voting systems like ours. Don’t let your opportunity to vote slip away!

It took a very long time to get a local Green MP elected locally. Help make sure he is re-elected!

Like any Green MP, Mike doesn’t just represent the constituents in his own riding, he provides a vouce to otherwise disfranchised Greens across the country. I’m in Kitchener—Conestoga, yet he supported and presented my Petition e-4802 in Parliament. So even if you’re not exactly in Mike’e riding, there is still time to help out by volunteering or donating. Mike’s team will keep working as hard to re-elect Mike as Mike works for us in Ottawa until the very last minute. If getting to the polling station is a problem, you can even call the office and they’ll arrange transportation for you… no matter who you ‘re planning on voting for. And if you haven’t already, you can listen to Mike on CKMS radio:

Kitchener—Conestoga Greens

Unfortunately there was a hitch in our candidate’s registration, so we were unable to secure a Green candidate in Kitchener—Conestoga for this 2025 election. ☹

Kitchener South—Hespeler: Vote Ethan Russell

Kitchener South—Hespeler candidate Ethan Russell will make another excellent Green MP for Waterloo Region. The photo above was taken just after Ethan’s CKMS “Meet The Candidate” spot, with show producer (and former Green Party candidate) Bob Jonkman. The air time time was made available to all Waterloo Region candidates, and it is interesting to see which did (or didn’t) show up.

Check out Ethan’s Green Party Page and, of course, listen to his CKMS broadcast here:

Waterloo Greens: Vote Simon Guthrie

We have yet another great Green Party candidate running in Waterloo.

And of course, check out Simon’s CKMS spot!

Find out more about Simon at https://www.simonguthrie.ca/

REMEMBER: Monday April 28th, 2025 is Election Day in Canada

While I would obviously like to see you cast your ballot for the Green Candidate in your riding, I sincerely hope you choose to vote for the candidate who will best represent you. Since my own riding is without a Green Candidate, after checking out the available candidates, I have decided my vote will go to for Bozorgzad, the excellent NDP candidate running in Kitchener—Conestoga.

Overall the opinion polls seem to indicate the Liberals are on track for another majority government. As far as I’m concerned, that would be an most unfortunate outcome. One of the many things wrong with what we call “strategic voting” these days (ie voting for a candidate you don’t want instead of the one you do), is that it helps prop up the First Past The Post two party Liberal/Conservative status quo.

We’re at a point where neither Liberal or Conservative governments can win a faux First Past The Post Majority Governments without all the vote suppression inspired by our Single Member Plurality voting system (which means a party doesn’t need to win a simple majority of the vote to win 100% of the power) and now also propped up by the pressure we unrepresented voters feel to vote “Strategically” for the least worst candidate. That’s not how representative democracy is supposed to work.

But it is the system Justin Trudeau chose over his own ERRE Committee’s recommendation to adopt a solidly Proportional Representation voting system. Because “fear voting” has made it possible for Liberal Governments to dominate our politics for so much of Canada’s history.

Strategic voting doesn’t do what they advertise. If it did, we only would have had to do it once. Giving one party a mandate it can’t earn from a majority of voters a majority of the power doesn’t result in a strong democratic government, the “strength” it produces is autocratic rule that polarizes us all. Even with our inadequate unrepresentative First Past The Post voting system, Canadians can get a lot closer to a representative Representative Democracy by voting for the independent candidates and small parties we actually want to vote for.

If we vote for what we want— regardless of the Opinion Polls, Op Eds and big money with which which defenders of the status quo successfully dominate our political discourse— the diverse Canadian electorate actually has the power to elect nothing but minority governments.

That means electing governments that will actually represent a majority of the voters. It will make governing a lot harder for our elected politicians because they will have to learn to work together instead of painting each other as the boogeyman, but it is the only way (short of Proportional Representation) we can achieve truly strong government supported by most Canadians.

I truly believe in democracy. I trust Canadians to do the right thing. And that starts with voting. And even better, voting for what we want.

Regards,
Laurel Russwurm
Kitchener—Conestoga Greens

visual laurel 2023-06-10 11:00:25

“Proportional representation will ensure that a minority will never rule. It also will ensure that no considerable minority will ever be excluded from having a voice Is that not democracy?

"What have the self- appointed protagonists of democracy and majority rule in this House to say about that?

"Are they opposed to a minority having a voice?

"Are they opposed to majority rule?”

—William Irvine, MP (1923) [Pictured] https://www.lipad.ca/full/permalink/643351/

“Now to think that democracy is properly represented when you…



“Now to think that democracy is properly represented when you have elections under a system which gives you a majority of the members from a minority of the electorate is, of course, too absurd for further argument.” 

 — Andrew Ross McMaster (Liberal)  February 19, 1923 https://www.lipad.ca/full/permalink/643321/

Above freezing temperatures and rain this week.  In December. …



Above freezing temperatures and rain this week.  In December.  In Canada.

Sounds like spring.  

Or Global Warming.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a government  clever enough to engage in #ClimateAction?  Instead, ours showered more than a billion dollars– 
Canadian tax dollars, by the way– on Fossil Fuel Companies.  

Not the workers.  

The lions share of Canada’s revenue comes from Income tax.  I think its been over half a century since Canada’s corporate tax income was about even with personal income tax.  And, of course, truly rich Canadians are more likely to hide their wealth  than pay tax on it.  And the biggest richest corporations are more likely to suck subsidies out of our government than actually pay in. 

It’s never the ordinary people who get enormous gifts from the government; it’s the ordinary people who pay the tax they owe. 

So now Mr Trudeau’s Government has succeeded in angering:

Albertan fossil fuel workers, who would rather get a new pipeline.  

The Fossil Fuel Companies, who would rather get a new pipeline.  

Fossil Fuel Company investors, who would rather get a new pipeline.  

And all the Canadians who understand Climate Change is an existential threat.

This after kicking all the strategic voters who voted for real electoral reform.

Its starting to look more and more like Mr Trudeau is going to be a 1 term PM.

Although I’m in Ontario, I have been trying to keep up with the…


PEI Green MLAs Hannah Bell and Peter Bevan Baker at the 2018 GPO Convention



Although I’m in Ontario, I have been trying to keep up with the PEI Greens since their electoral reform referendum– the one in which PEI voted to adopt MMP.  The ruling Liberals decided not to implement the result, promising only to have a second referendum combined with the next election.  This seems to have annoyed Prince Edward Islanders so much they’ve started electing Greens.

Would you look at that… now, I’m not much for believing in Opinion Polls, but nonetheless it certainly looks as if the citizens of PEI are taking note of the fact that their PEI Greens are actually doing politics differently than the same old parties.  If this trend continues who knows, the PEI Greens may well be the next Official Opposition, or perhaps even be the first Canadian Green Party to form government.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-cra-poll-august-2018-1.4812816

Although I’m in Ontario, I have been trying to keep up with the…


PEI Green MLAs Hannah Bell and Peter Bevan Baker at the 2018 GPO Convention



Although I’m in Ontario, I have been trying to keep up with the PEI Greens since their electoral reform referendum– the one in which PEI voted to adopt MMP.  The ruling Liberals decided not to implement the result, promising only to have a second referendum combined with the next election.  This seems to have annoyed Prince Edward Islanders so much they’ve started electing Greens.

Would you look at that… now, I’m not much for believing in Opinion Polls, but nonetheless it certainly looks as if the citizens of PEI are taking note of the fact that their PEI Greens are actually doing politics differently than the same old parties.  If this trend continues who knows, the PEI Greens may well be the next Official Opposition, or perhaps even be the first Canadian Green Party to form government.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-cra-poll-august-2018-1.4812816

It’s been a while since I’ve made regular posts here on Visual…



It’s been a while since I’ve made regular posts here on Visual Laurel because I’ve been swept up in the 2018 Ontario Election as campaign manager for my husband, the Green Party Candidate for Kitchener—Conestoga.

Over the last few years the five Waterloo Region Greens ridings have been working together, setting roots in our communities, establishing an online presence, and working hard raising our Green profile.  

As disappointing as the overall winner-take-all result was (giving a party with only 40% of the vote 100% of the power), I am really very pleased that all five of our WRGreens candidates— 

• David Weber (Kitchener South—Hespeler),
• Stacey Danckert (Kitchener Centre),
• Bob Jonkman (Kitchener—Conestoga),
• Michele Braniff (Cambridge), and
• Zdravko Gunjevic (Waterloo) 

— finished in the top 20% of the Green Party of Ontario.  Bravo!

And we are all extraordinarily pleased that in this election, the GPO did indeed achieve our primary election goal: the Ontario Green Party made history!  The citizens of Guelph saw the wisdom in electing GPO Leader Mike Schreiner to represent them, so now, for the very first time in history, a Green Party MPP will sit in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 

This is the beginning of doing politics differently.   

Congratulations Mike!

 Thank you Ontario!

It’s been a while since I’ve made regular posts here on Visual…



It’s been a while since I’ve made regular posts here on Visual Laurel because I’ve been swept up in the 2018 Ontario Election as campaign manager for my husband, the Green Party Candidate for Kitchener—Conestoga.

Over the last few years the five Waterloo Region Greens ridings have been working together, setting roots in our communities, establishing an online presence, and working hard raising our Green profile.  

As disappointing as the overall winner-take-all result was (giving a party with only 40% of the vote 100% of the power), I am really very pleased that all five of our WRGreens candidates— 

• David Weber (Kitchener South—Hespeler),
• Stacey Danckert (Kitchener Centre),
• Bob Jonkman (Kitchener—Conestoga),
• Michele Braniff (Cambridge), and
• Zdravko Gunjevic (Waterloo) 

— finished in the top 20% of the Green Party of Ontario.  Bravo!

And we are all extraordinarily pleased that in this election, the GPO did indeed achieve our primary election goal: the Ontario Green Party made history!  The citizens of Guelph saw the wisdom in electing GPO Leader Mike Schreiner to represent them, so now, for the very first time in history, a Green Party MPP will sit in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 

This is the beginning of doing politics differently.   

Congratulations Mike!

 Thank you Ontario!

Defenders of the Status Quo writers like The Province’s Mike…



Defenders of the Status Quo writers like The Province’s Mike Smyth tell us:

Keep in mind British Columbians have already voted in two earlier referendums on proportional representation. The idea was voted down both times.

57.7% of BC Voters voted to adopt the BC-STV voting system recommended by the BC Citizen’s Assembly [download PDF of the Final Report] 

Not what I would consider “voted down” ~ especially in a winner-take-all system that routinely delivers majority governments with minority support.  

BC governments don’t need 60% of the vote to form government.  

In 2017, Ms Christy Clark’s Liberal MLA’s secured only 43 seats; they needed 44 seats to claim a majority government.  Ms. Clark tried very hard to woo Green Party support; had she had succeeded, she could have formed a minority government based on only 40.36% of the votes cast for Liberal MLAs.

The NDP won only 41 seats… but they did it with 40.28%

That’s a difference of only .08% of the votes the parties earned ~ 1,566 votes ~
but it meant a difference of 2 seats.

Meanwhile the BC Green Party won the “balance of responsibility” … they worked out a supply and confidence agreement that allowed the BC NDP to form a minority government.  

Here’s hoping they deliver the good people of BC electoral reform. to Proportional Representation!

Defenders of the status quo argue that Proportional…



Defenders of the status quo argue that Proportional Representation leads to back room deals.  

Proportional Representation
And it is indeed true that Proportional Representation forces political parties to compromise and work together in order to govern.  

But those aren’t back room deals.  Voters know it is going on and can see the results and understand why they happen.  

If your party sells out its core values, you can express your displeasure by electing a different candidate who might actually represent you in the next election.

First Past The Post
The back room deals that are democratically worrisome are the ones that happen within big tent parties.  Big tent parties are based on elaborate back room deals.  Parties that used to have a recognizable ideology – something they actually stand for – merge with other parties, not because of shared valued, but because it is necessary if your party is going to be able to gain power. 

The goings on in these back rooms are so mysterious and secretive that even MPs and party members don’t know which promises their party will even try to keep if they win an election.  Such things are decided in back rooms.  

Once in a while we can see how it really works.  

Following the BRexit vote, the new UK PM Theresa May called a snap election intending to build stronger support for a “hard” BRexit, but in fact  lost support resulting in a snap election. The deal she made with the extremist DUP to keep power horrified many Brits.  

When no party won a majority in the recent British Columbia Election, then Premier Christy Clark was willing to throw everything her party stood for under the bus in order to retain power.   Luckily the other BC Parties were able to reach a compromise.

These are the backroom deals we can all do without.