Petition on Liberal broken promise goes viral

130,000 Canadians demand Liberals recommit to promise of making every vote count

OTTAWA – A record number of Canadians used an online petition to register their disappointment with the Liberal government’s decision to abandon its promise to reform Canada’s outdated and unfair voting system.

“The petition was originally launched to pressure the Liberals to keep their promise,” said NDP MP Nathan Cullen who sponsored the e-petition. “But a few weeks after it was online the Liberals announced they would be breaking that key platform commitment, and that’s when it went viral.”

In the days and weeks following the Liberal broken promise the petition, known as E-616, surged and quickly became the most signed e-petition on the government website. The petition formally closed on Thursday morning with 130,592 signatures, making it one of the most signed petitions ever sent to the federal government.

“People are angry. They were told these Liberals were going to be different, that they would restore faith in our politics and our democracy,” Cullen said. “The Liberals have chosen cynicism over doing what is right, and they’ll have to answer to voters.”

The NDP says it will not give up the fight to make our voting system better reflect the will of Canadians and will be launching a new initiative in the coming weeks.