Study calls for mandatory byelections after a floor-crossing
Only six per cent of voters are motivated to get out to the ballot box by an individual candidate, compared to the 39 per cent who are motivated by the party leader.
A new Fraser Institute study is calling for mandatory by-elections if an MP decides to cross the floor as a means to restore democratic legitimacy as well as Canadians’ faith in the electoral system.
“Politicians mistakenly credit their merit alone for their electoral victories, but that’s a self-serving myth. Most voters choose the party, leader, or broader issues, rather than the personal qualities of the individual candidate on the ballot,” said study author and former NDP member Nathan Cullen.
The Fraser Institute study comes on the heels of a number of MPs who defected to the Carney government from both the Conservatives and the NDP. The study noted that “by changing parties without voter consent, MPs break the implicit agreement with voters.”
Cullen served as an NDP member at both the federal and provincial levels of government, and his study found that only six per cent of voters are motivated to get out to the ballot box by an individual candidate.
That’s a small cohort compared to the 39 per cent who are motivated by the party leader, 24 per cent by the party, and 15 per cent by policies.
There are also a portion of voters (13 per cent) who would sooner strategically vote than decide based on an individual candidate.
“When MPs cross the floor by leaving the party they were elected under, it stems from an inflated belief in their own importance rather than genuine voter representation. This self-delusion is not only poor judgment but erodes public trust,” reads the study. “By changing parties without voter consent, members of Parliament (MPs) break the implicit contract with voters.”
The economic think tank is suggesting that parliamentarians who leave their party either sit as independents until the next election or trigger a by-election in order to “restore both voter authority and democratic legitimacy.”
“Elected officials must remember that their duty is to serve the communities which elected them, not their own personal ambition,” said Cullen. “Anything else is self-delusion and not only poor judgement but erodes public trust. Reaffirming mandates when changing parties would help restore trust in an era of deepening political cynicism.”
Recent polling has shown that Canadians also held strong support for restricting or penalizing floor crossing such as New Zealand’s political system, known as “waka (canoe) jumping” rules.
“Elected officials must remember that their duty is to serve the communities that elected them, not their own personal ambition. Reaffirming mandates when changing parties would help restore trust in an era of deepening political cynicism,” reads the study.