E-7315: Petition to the Prime Minister — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7315
Track petition E-7315 — "Petition to the Prime Minister" sponsored by Vincent Ho. 9,796 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the Prime Minister
Whereas:
• The democratic mandate of a Member of Parliament is established by voters based on the political party and platform represented during a general election;
• Voters cast ballots with the expectation that an elected Member will continue to represent the party affiliation under which they were elected;
• A Member of Parliament crossing the floor to join a different party significantly alters the representation chosen by the electorate without providing voters the opportunity to reconsider that choice; and
• Such changes in partisan affiliation can undermine democratic accountability, and Canadian citizens and residents require a formal mechanism to hold Members of Parliament accountable when a fundamental change in party membership occurs mid-term.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Introduce legislation to establish a recall mechanism for any Member of Parliament who leaves their caucus to join another political party;
2. Mandate that a recall petition process be automatically triggered within an electoral district once a Member of Parliament formally joins a different political party than the one under which they were elected;
3. Establish a requirement that if a recall petition receives signatures equivalent to at least 20% of the total votes cast in that riding during the previous federal election within 90 days, the seat shall be declared vacant; and
4. Require that a by-election be called immediately following a successful recall petition to allow voters to determine their representation under the altered circumstances.