Government That Works for You

Democratic Reform and Good Governance

The strength and integrity of our democracy is a core value. We believe that a truly democratic nation is one where every voice is heard, every vote matters, and public trust is honored. Our vision is to build a democracy that is transparent, accountable, and inclusive for all Canadians.

The Green Party will modernize Canada's electoral system by implementing proportional representation and convening a citizens' assembly on democratic renewal to examine crucial reforms like online voting, lowering the voting age to 16, and mandatory voting.

To protect our political system from foreign influence, we will restore the per-vote subsidy, reduce donation limits, and introduce a foreign influence transparency registry. We will empower Elections Canada to proactively investigate foreign interference and provide public reporting on threats to election integrity, including from emerging technologies like AI.

We must restore Canadians' trust in our democracy. That begins with transparency and integrity. Strengthening the Conflict of Interest Act to include personal, political, and family ties is essential, Canadians deserve to know that public service means serving the public, not private interests. A government with nothing to hide would close the revolving door between politics and lobbying, enforce real penalties for conflicts of interest, and shine a light into every backroom meeting.

We would implement real-time transparency in lobbying, and ensure all regulatory board appointments undergo meaningful conflict-of-interest screening. Whistleblowers must be protected, not punished. And our parliamentary watchdogs — the ethics commissioner and auditor general — must have true independence and the power to act. Ethics aren't optional, they're the foundation of democracy.

ELECTORAL REFORM

• Modernize Canada's electoral system and protect Canadian democracy by implementing Proportional Representation.
• Convene a Citizens' Assembly on Democratic Renewal to study proportional representation systems, lowering the voting age to 16, online voting, and mandatory voting.
• Ensure the Citizens' Assembly is independent, diverse, and consensus-driven.
• Require political parties to report on candidate recruitment from underrepresented groups.

POLITICAL FINANCE AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE PROTECTIONS

• Restore the per-vote subsidy for political party funding and reduce donation limits to curb foreign influence in elections, strengthen financial transparency, and reduce reliance on private donors who may act as conduits for foreign interests.
• Strengthen protections against foreign funding and influence in Canadian elections, including expanding third-party political financing rules.
• Establish a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, requiring individuals and entities lobbying on behalf of foreign governments to disclose their activities.
• Expand the mandate of Elections Canada and the Commissioner of Canada Elections to proactively investigate suspected foreign interference.
• Require political parties and candidates to report any known instances of attempted foreign influence or coercion.
• Introduce public reporting on foreign interference threats in elections, balancing transparency with national security concerns.

CAMPAIGN INTEGRITY AND ELECTION OVERSIGHT

• Require all political parties to submit campaign platform cost estimates to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
• Mandate Elections Canada to create a truth-in-advertising framework for election campaigns.
• Empower the Commissioner of Canada Elections to regulate and sanction false political advertising.
• Mandate full transparency in publicly released polls, requiring disclosure of sample size, weighting methods, funding sources, question wording, and margin of error to prevent misinformation.
• Hold media and polling firms accountable for responsible poll reporting, ensuring all published polls are independently verified and presented with clear methodological context.

DEFENDING DEMOCRACY FROM EMERGING THREATS

• Establish an all-party standing committee to examine the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies, including AI and digital platforms, in elections.
• Oppose the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause and support legislative measures to restrict its application, ensuring it remains a tool of last resort in exceptional circumstances.

ETHICS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AND LOBBYING REFORM

• Strengthen the Conflict of Interest Act by broadening the definition of conflicts to include personal, political, and family interests, with meaningful financial penalties for violations.
• Impose mandatory conflict of interest screening and disclosure for all federal regulatory board appointments.
• Close the revolving door between politics and lobbying by enforcing a five-year cooling-off period for former politicians and senior public officials.
• Enhance transparency by requiring lobbyists to publicly disclose, in real-time, all interactions with elected officials and public servants.
• Expand whistleblower protections with robust safeguards against retaliation and secure channels for confidential disclosures.
• Strengthen the independence and investigative powers of parliamentary officers, including the Auditor General and Ethics Commissioner.
• Replace the secretive Board of Internal Economy with an independent oversight committee to transparently review MPs' salaries, expenses, and budgets.
• Prohibit federal funding for industry-backed NGOs that advocate private interests under the guise of public benefit.
• Mandate open government practices, ensuring proactive disclosure of government documents and timely responses to access to information requests.

RESTORING EXCELLENCE IN THE FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE

• End reliance on costly private consulting firms such as McKinsey and Deloitte, ensuring that core governmental functions and services are delivered by professional, experienced public servants.
• Reinstate effective, citizen-focused service delivery models, reversing damaging restructuring from previous governments, such as the creation of Service Canada under Harper.
• Reinvest in Canada's federal public service, rebuilding capacity, morale, and expertise to deliver high-quality, efficient services that Canadians expect and deserve.
• Enhance oversight and accountability to prevent misuse of taxpayer dollars.
• Reduce wasteful spending at the political level, including significantly cutting the Prime Minister's Office budget from $10 million to $1 million

ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

• Extend the Access to Information Act to the Prime Minister's Office, ministers' offices, and Parliament.
• Scrap all Access to Information (ATI) fees except for filing fees.
• Enforce deadlines for timely ATI request processing and empower the Information Commissioner to order the release of information.
• Override government secrecy exemptions in the public interest.
• Allow the Information Commissioner to review cabinet confidentiality claims.

PRIVACY, SURVEILLANCE, AND DATA PROTECTION

• Expand Privacy Commissioner powers to protect personal data and enforce privacy laws.
• Require CSIS and CSE to obtain warrants before surveillance on Canadians.
• Ban routine surveillance of protestors and NGOs and prohibit data sharing with agencies like the National Energy Board.
• Require internet service providers (ISPs) to release user data only with a legal warrant, except in emergencies.
• Make political parties subject to the Privacy Act.
• Mandate data breach reporting for all government agencies, companies, banks, and political parties.

cvin.bsky.social on Bluesky

If he truly cares for the future of our great country, Canada, @mark-carney.bsky.social will follow Jack Layton's lead. For without proportional representation we are likely doomed to end up with a society as divided and destructive as America's. @fairvote.ca

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

Jack Layton made the clear case for proportional representation during the 2011 Leaders Debate.

Will any leader have the courage to say the same tonight?

14 years later, Canadians are still waiting for a democracy where every vote counts.

#cdnpoli #Election2025

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

The question is: Would the @ndp.ca finally use their leverage in a minority government to secure proportional representation once and for all?

#cdnpoli #Election2025

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

Jack Layton made the clear case for proportional representation during the 2011 Leaders Debate.

Will any leader have the courage to say the same tonight?

14 years later, Canadians are still waiting for a democracy where every vote counts.

#cdnpoli #Election2025

Fair Vote Canada🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

Another day, another scandal—and thanks to first-past-the-post, Ford can sweep it under the rug with just 43% of the vote.

Ontario deserves better. It’s time for proportional representation here and across Canada.

#cdnpoli #onpoli

Ben Spurr: The NY Times has published an investigation into the Therme development at Ontario Place. It found that while the company told the province it had a proven track record of operating six spas around the world, at the time it had only ever operated one

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

Over 2,000 Canadians are delivering 300,000+ door hangers!

From coast to coast to coast, people of all ages and backgrounds are stepping up to say: every vote should count.

Join the movement for a better democracy—demand proportional representation! (sign-up link in reply)

#cdnpoli #Election2025

Handbook For Detecting and Preventing Foreign Interference in Canada’s Election

2025-04-07 DisinfoWatch

DisinfoWatch has partnered with Canada’s Digital Public Square to produce a new guide designed to help Canadians protect themselves—and our democracy—from foreign interference during elections and in the periods between them. The guide is titled “Democracy and You: A Handbook for Detecting and Preventing Foreign Interference in Canadian Elections.”

Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is vital to maintaining a healthy and functioning democracy. It is crucial for voters, activists, journalists, candidates, and political parties to recognize interference tactics and take action to counter them.

This handbook offers an overview of:

• key foreign interference strategies
• real-life case studies
• practical tools for identifying, reporting, and defending against these threats.

Let me know if you want to tailor it to a specific audience (e.g., media, educators, community leaders).

You can download the handbook HERE

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

The curse of the big tent strikes again.

Under first-past-the-post, the right is forced into one unstable party where dissent is punished.

Proportional representation would let different voices win seats—without being expelled or forced to toe the party line.

#abpoli

The Breakdown AB on Bluesky

The UCP have kicked out MLA Pete Guthrie for calling for accountability and transparency.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

If you're on the right and unhappy with Ford or Poilievre, first-past-the-post limits your options—forcing the right into big-tent parties where dissent can be crushed.

Proportional representation lets you vote your values without empowering party bosses.

#cdnpoli

The Tyee on Bluesky

@willshelling.bsky.social: Progressives must be mindful that coalescing a vote around two parties may have long-term, deleterious effects for our politics, discourse and polarization.

#CdnElxn2025

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

Great to see our doorhanger campaign featured by CBC!

Want to help make every vote count with proportional representation?

Sign up to deliver doorhangers in your riding today! (link in replies)

#cdnpoli #Election2025 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Rambout is one of 50 local campaigners for Fair Vote Canada. The non-profit advocacy group is pushing for electoral reform, in particular, a shift toward some form of proportional representation.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada on Bluesky

Countries with well funded public media have stronger democracies

Charlie Angus on Bluesky

You push the rage and disinformation team back by talking with people and electing good MPs rather than sock puppets. I was thrilled to help out Trisha Estabrooks in Edmonton Centre. She can win this riding and keep it from the Poilievre gang.

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

When independent thinkers are punished for dissent, something’s broken.

Proportional representation would end the need for one big-tent party on the Right—so principled Conservatives keep their voice without the "with us or against us" attitude.

#cdnpoli #Election2025

APTN News on Bluesky

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault called the "last minute decision" both "unfounded" and "undemocratic."

CIVIX Canada on Bluesky

Looking for a clear summary of candidate & party policies that use youth-friendly language?

Pollenize is a free online tool co-created by CIVIX to help citizens & students learn & make informed decisions about their vote. Access it today: pollenize.org

London North Centre GPO/ London Centre GPC on Bluesky

IMPORTANT: First time voters (people who turned 18 since last election and new citizens) MUST register to vote in the federal election. See: ereg.elections.ca/en/ereg/index & follow the easy steps to register.

Advance polls are open from Fri. April 18 through Mon. April 21 from 9:00 to 9:00. VOTE!

Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 on Bluesky

If you’re worried about governments abusing the notwithstanding clause, you should be terrified that first-past-the-post lets them do it with just 30–40% of the vote.

Proportional representation isn’t optional—it’s essential to protect our democracy.

#cdnpoli #Election2025

Save the CBC 🇨🇦✌️ on Bluesky

The CBC could be gone by June 1. Poilievre’s plan? Defund it. Silence it. Break our national voice.

Use SmartVoting.ca to fight back.

#SaveTheCBC #SmartVoting #CdnPoli #MediaFreedom #StopTheSlide