Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Martian
As opposed to voting for candidates? Yes, it's a parliamentary thing. The parliamentary system doesn't allow voters to choose a specific prime minister; rather, the parties choose the prime ministers and the voters choose the parties. A party leader may be a reason not to vote for a specific party, but our votes always go towards the party rather than the leader himself.
|
Yes, and to clarify a bit further: You vote to place your riding's party member into a seat in the House of Commons. As an example, there were people who voted for PM Stephen Harper (hrn...
) but that was because they live in his riding and they voted for the Tory member. Harper just happened to be the party leader and therefore the PM when his party won the minority government.
So, yes, you do basically vote by party. There isn't really another way, except when you vote by platform. Like
Martian, I too have voted Liberal in the past, but there's no way I'll be doing it anytime soon with Dion as leader. The Liberals are going to be taken through the wringer in a matter of time. Besides, the NDP have been putting up a platform I believe in for a while now, so there's no question in my mind.