Trudeau's electoral reform about-face slammed at Parliament Hill rally

About 300 people gathered on the front steps of Parliament Hill Saturday afternoonto voice their support for electoral reform and their disappointment in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to abandon his election promise.

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The protest came together, in part, because of University of Ottawa political science student Daniel Rae.

"Electoral reform, it was one of the main reasons I voted for Trudeau in the first place," Rae said. "Because I didn't want to see more politics of fear and domination, which is the essential politics that is encouraged by first-past-the-post. I wanted to see a new politics of compromise, negotiation and cooperation."

The 20-year-old worked to organize the Ottawa protest, which was one of27 protests organized in cities and towns across the country.

In a7-minuteanswer Friday at a town hall in Yellowknife,Trudeauexplained how he came to decide that pursuing electoral reform would destabilize Canadian politics, as it wasan issue that only a minority of people cared about.

"I know people will be disappointed," Trudeau saidover boos from the crowd. "This was my choice to make and I chose to make it with full consequence of the cost that is possibly going to come to it. But I will not compromise on what is in the best interest of Canada."

Trudeau says stability of Canada outweighs electoral reform

8 years ago

Duration 1:12

Trudeau spoke during a town hall in Yellowknife today

RalLavergne, president of Fair Vote Canada, said he's seen a "tremendous amount of anger and disappointment" in the prime minister since the promise was broken.

"If he was dictator, he could do that, it would be his choice. In fact, he's not. He's the leader of a democracy," Lavergne told CBC News Saturday.

"There's a minority that cares a lot [about proportional representation] and it's going to influence their behaviour going into the next election. There could be a price to pay for this."

Green party candidates and NDP MPs also spoke at the rally, calling on the crowd to punish the Liberals the next time they go to the ballot box.

CBC Ottawa covered part of the protest on Facebook Live.You can watch it below or here.