logo
Housing, Arctic defence top of mind for many Nunavummiut in federal election

Housing, Arctic defence top of mind for many Nunavummiut in federal election

CBC25-03-2025
Canadians will be going to the polls on April 28. TJ Dhir hit the streets of Iqaluit to find out what issues are top of mind for Nunavummiut.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Opinion: Proportional representation is an antidote to national disunity
Opinion: Proportional representation is an antidote to national disunity

Calgary Herald

time20 hours ago

  • Calgary Herald

Opinion: Proportional representation is an antidote to national disunity

Canadians head to the polls for a federal general election on Monday, April 28, 2025. Gavin Young/Postmedia file Canada's political divide is deepening — and our voting system is making it worse. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Alberta has recently seen a surge in separatist sentiment. It's not just economic frustration. It's a feeling that Albertans are not fairly represented in Ottawa — that they vote, but their voices don't shape the national agenda. This frustration is not unique to Alberta. People across the country — in Toronto, in rural Manitoba, in Quebec — are being misrepresented or outright ignored because of our outdated first-past-the-post electoral system. If we want to hold this country together, we need to reform the way we vote. We need proportional representation. First-past-the-post is a winner-takes-all system that distorts election outcomes. A party can win the majority of seats with just 35 per cent of the vote. Whole provinces are painted as monolithic, 'Conservative Alberta,' 'Liberal Toronto,' when in truth, there's political diversity everywhere. The system just hides it. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again In Alberta and Saskatchewan, Conservative parties often win nearly every seat federally, even though a third of voters support other parties. In Toronto, the opposite happens: Liberal candidates sweep, leaving Conservative and NDP voters unrepresented. The result? Regional resentment and polarization. First-past-the-post creates the illusion that we are more divided than we really are — and that's dangerous for Canada. Proportional representation can heal these divides. It ensures that every vote counts and that seats in Parliament reflect the actual support each party receives. It's fair, it's democratic and it would give every region voices, not just the dominant one. If Alberta elected MPs under a proportional system, we would see a diversity of political voices — Conservative, centrist, progressive — reflecting the province's true electorate. That would reduce the perception that Alberta is 'shut out' of Ottawa whenever another party forms government. Likewise, Conservative voters in Ontario and Atlantic Canada would finally be fairly represented. One model especially well-suited to Canada is single transferable vote — a ranked ballot system in which multi-member districts elect three to five MPs. Voters rank their preferences, and seats are distributed based on support. This not only improves fairness, but preserves local accountability and voter choice. This isn't some untested theory. The single transferable vote was used right here in Canada — in Alberta and Manitoba urban provincial elections — for nearly 30 years, from the 1920s through the 1950s. It worked. It gave voters more control, produced fairer outcomes and reduced partisan domination.

It's time to change the conversation about the economy and climate change
It's time to change the conversation about the economy and climate change

Calgary Herald

time20 hours ago

  • Calgary Herald

It's time to change the conversation about the economy and climate change

Another devastating forest fire season is upon us and the eastern U.S. has been sizzling under a record-breaking heat dome. We can no longer ignore that climate change is the cause. Article content Our climate is warming due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and Canadian families are now regularly paying the price: displacement, rising insurance costs, damage to property and, in extreme situations, loss of life. Yet, at the June G7 meeting, world leaders signed the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter without once mentioning climate change. Article content Article content Article content Meanwhile, Canada has fallen behind in meeting emission-reduction targets under the Paris Agreement — an agreement ratified by 194 countries designed to slow climate change. While the oil and gas industry is a major contributor to Canada's economy, it accounts for approximately 30 per cent of Canada's total emissions and is the main reason it is missing its emission targets. Article content Article content Corporate and political leaders have failed to come together to create a serious plan to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, while promoting stability in its workforce and economic prosperity more generally. Entrenched positions and political grandstanding have only resulted in ever-increasing emissions from this sector, while the climate change can gets kicked down the road. Article content A recent analysis of public opinion data on climate change by ( finds that while there has been a decline in public prioritization of global warming in part due to economic and sovereignty threats, 'most Canadians are worried about climate change and want governments and industries to tackle the problem.' Article content Article content How do we move forward constructively? Article content First, we must stop the rancorous way we debate the issues. People fleeing forest fires are not interested in the divisiveness and indignation that have characterized past interaction between oil and gas interests, environmental interests, and federal and provincial governments. Instead, honest dialogue and respectful debate will move us toward a shared vision faster than anything else. We need to bring together the best and brightest of all political stripes, Indigenous organizations, the for- and non-profit sectors, levels of government and civil society, all with the capacity to find common ground. Article content Second, provincial, territorial and federal governments must actively recommit to the targets we set under the Paris Agreement, because without setting the bar for emissions and measuring results, there will be no progress on climate policy. While the political conversation has recently shifted away from climate policy, the context for fruitful dialogue is improving. The long shadow of the United States is fading, giving way to an internal will to diversify our economy in preparation for the global economy of 2050 and beyond.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store