A record number of people signed e-petitions last year do they make a difference?

A callfor the House of Commons to vote no confidence in the Liberal government is nowthe most-signed e-petition ever to be launched in Canada another signof the increasing popularity of online petitions.

The petition wasput forward by a Peterborough, Ont. resident and sponsored by Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri. It calls on the House of Commons to initiate a vote of non-confidence in the Liberal government, defeat it and hold an election within 45 days.

The e-petition, now awaiting certification,garnered 386,698 signatures by the time the signing period closed just before Christmas. Ferrerifrequently promoted the e-petition on social media, including ina video featuring the person who had initiated the petition.

In a statement sent to CBC News, Ferreriaccused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of eroding Canadians' trust in government through his government's record on several key issues.

"Misery is a powerful motivator and clearly this petition is elevating the voices of Canadians who are sick of the Trudeau imposed misery and want a leader and a government they can trust," she said.

High-profile e-petitions attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures last year part of a growing trend toward using online petitions to pressure governments on a variety of controversial subjects, such as firearms regulations andforeign policy.

The number of signatures on electronic petitions, which can be presented in the House of Commons, has been growing steadily since they were introducedin 2015, according to an analysis of House of Commons data by CBC News. The number of signatures hit a new high last year almost 1.5 million names on about 500 e-petitions.

Most ofthose signatureswent tojust a few high-profile online petitions. Three of the five most-signed e-petitions were put forward in late 2023. A fourth sponsored by Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis is still open for signatures and could soon crack the top ten.

Lewis's e-petition calls for Canada to withdraw from the United Nations and its subsidiary organizations. Lewis has promoted the petition on social media as a measure to "protect our national sovereignty."

Her position has received pushback from the Liberal benches. Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs,said the petition amounts to a callfor Canada to abandon its international obligations.

Lewis did not reply to a request for comment from CBC News.

E-petitions even the ones presented in the House of Commons, or those which gather significant support do not put the government under any legal obligation to change its policies. The House of Commons website describes them as a means to "draw attention to an issue of public interest or concern" or to "request" action.

The petition sponsored by Lewis is far from the only one to call on the government to take somedramatic or controversial action. An e-petitionsponsored by NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice that circulated last year called on the government to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. It drew more than a quarter of a million signatures.

Non-binding expressions of support

E-petitions can beinitiated by any citizen or resident ofCanada,but they must be authorized by a member of Parliament. Those MPs don't necessarily endorse all the ideas in the petitions they sponsor, though many includingFerreri, Lewis and Boulericecampaign on their behalf.

The e-petitions proceed through several stages of review and certification. Oncethey reach500 signatures, they can be presented in the House of Commons by the sponsoring MP.

E-petitions are non-binding. The petition sponsored by Ferreri, for instance, would not require any sort of debate or confidence vote in the House of Commons.

The government must, however, providewritten responses to petitionspresented in the House. Those responses typically outline current government policy or the state ofCanadian law.

Those signinge-petitions must be either citizens or residentsof Canada.

Kennedy Stewart, a former NDP MP and mayor of Vancouver, was the original driver of the motion that allowed for e-petitions whenStephen Harper's Conservative majority government was in office. With help from allies like Conservative MPMichael Chong, Stewart worked to push forward the change through a private member's motionand eventually gained the support of seven other ConservativeMPsand all other opposition parties.

Stewart told CBC News that, given thegrowing popularity ofe-petitions,it may be time to review their rules and make them harder for governments to ignore.

"It didn't go all the way where I wanted it to go.I had to make some compromises," he said.

Stewart suggested that a petition reaching a certain threshold number of votes should automatically triggeraCommons "take-note" debate one that does not end in a vote or should be dealt with bya specialcommittee.

He noted that e-petitionsare well-established and exceedingly popular in the U.K., where the House of Commons has a committee set up to address them.

"I think now that we're getting to the point where you're getting such high numbers of signatures, that should definitely be revisited," he said.

Stewart said the growing partisan popularity of e-petitions is a good thing, since one of his main goalsalmost a decade ago was toencourage civic engagement and connection to federal politics.

"Even if through the whole four-year span of a Parliament you sign one e-petition, at least you have some connection with this institution that's often way off in Ottawa," he said, adding he sees e-petitions as a kind of "gateway drug" for political involvement.

He said one great advantage of the House of Commons e-petition process is its confidentiality. Data gathered through e-petitionsis protected and is not added to any partisan lists to help drive party fundraising or campaigning.

"You have people that maybe vote Conservative but they sign a Liberal petition ... It could also encourage cross-partisanship or break down the lines," he said.

"I think we should embrace these. We just see such a decline in democracy around the world. It's pretty scary. And this is a good way to bolster our most important values."