The Greens in Australia (equivalent to our NDP as third party) won 9% of the vote in Australia.
You'd think all those lefty left Labour people would vote Greens as first and Labour as second, yet, surprise surprise, they don't.
I don't know anything about the Greens in Australia, but the fact that the Greens had spot-on
perfect policies both federally and provincially (Ontario) made me want to vote for them here. They actually take a real stand on hard issues, and not even just that hippie environment -- they were the only big party promising to end religious schools in Ontario.
But I can't. I can't vote Green when I know that Tim "let's fire 100,000 people" Hudak's PCs are competitive in my riding. I can't vote Green when I know that it could contribute to another Harper minority, with more anti-democratic shenanigans to prevent a coalition.
At least with AV I could mark down "yes, they are my first choice, but I like the Liberals too -- they're pretty good."
And you know I'm happy today. Certainly Trudeau's not going to have a perfect record. I don't want to see Energy East going forward, and I'll be calling my MP when that comes up, but at least we have a good choice that's inclusive for
all Canadians, which is something that AV would promote, rather than divisive nasty Harper-esque politics.