The Liberals plan to engage in dialogue with Canadians to define the values and principles they wish to see reflected in their democratic institutions |
Create a national process for choosing elected Senators from each province and territory
Propose further reforms to make the Senate an effective, independent, and democratically elected body that equitably represents all regions
Restore representation by population for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta in the House of Commons while protecting the seat counts of smaller provinces
Introduce legislation modeled on the BC and Ontario laws requiring fixed election dates every four years, except when a government loses the confidence of the House (in which case an election would be held immediately, and the subsequent election would follow four years later)
Make all votes in Parliament, except the budget and main estimates, “free votes” for ordinary Members of Parliament
Increase the power of Parliament and parliamentary committees to review the spending estimates of departments and hold ministers to account
Ensure that party nomination and leadership races are conducted in a fair, transparent, and democratic manner
Prevent party leaders from appointing candidates without the democratic consent of local electoral district associations |
The NDP proposes a referendum on whether to change the voting system to one based on proportional representation, which would give parties seats based on based on the percentage of votes they receive
Abolish the Senate
Create aboriginal seats in Parliament
Lower the voting age to 16
Create an independent ethics counsellor, toughen up conflict-of-interest guidelines and crack down on expense accounts
Implement a Parliamentary review of senior appointments to bodies such as Crown corporations, agencies and boards
Have "third parties" report publicly on the funds they received for election campaigns and advertising
Crack down on unaccountable election slush funds
Enact whistleblower laws to protect civil servants
Improve federal, provincial and territorial relationships through the Council of the Federation
Ensure Parliament votes before committing troops overseas
Establish an independent commissioner who monitors federal departments’ compliance to all policies for persons with disabilities and who advises about the effects of pending legislation on persons with disabilities |
Promote sovereignty and create a country called Quebec
Let the remaining political parties deal with the parliamentary and constitutional consequences after Quebec is taken out of Canada
Government institutions should be of non-religious nature with no religious affiliation
Quebec to have its own national teams to play in international hockey and soccer tournaments
The state has to have a substantial presence in society and be a partner with all citizens |
Create public consultation process to determine form of proportional representation, where the percentage of party seats won equal the party's percentage of the popular vote, that would best serve Canadians for the next federal election
Support the legislative changes required to introduce the proportional representation system recommended by the public consultation
Greens want Elections Canada, or another independent agency, to take control of a mandatory series of open leaders’ debates
Introduce fixed election dates
Move from the current partial ban on corporate and union donations to political parties to a full ban on such donations
Lower the voting age to seventeen
Reduce the mandatory $1,000 candidate deposit to encourage more
Canadians to participate in the democratic system
Introduce laws guaranteeing a proportion of seats for women in government appointed bodies |