We trusted you, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

When you made the clear and repeated promise that "2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system," we believed you.

But as I wrote this column Wednesday evening, that promise was being deleted from the website of the Liberal party.

We had faith that your slogan "Real Change" really meant something. We expected you really would change the winner-takes-all system we have now, where a political party can get 100 per cent of the power with only 39 per cent of the votes cast.

In Waterloo Region, hundreds of people were so inspired by your promise that they held dozens of community meetings to discuss the different kinds of proportional representation in place in other countries, and which model might be best for Canadians.

They volunteered their time to speak to hundreds of high school students about the implications of electoral reform. They staffed booths at local festivals. They came to meetings to speak to the committee examining the issue.

One local group, Fair Vote Canada's Waterloo Region chapter, surveyed its supporters who reported sending 777 messages — letters, phone calls, office visits and conversations — to local Liberal MPs to explain how important this issue is.

Trudeau's shabby, cynical broken promise has let them all down.

In the letter to Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould that outlines her responsibilities, Trudeau wrote: "Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate."

Some people are really angry about this.

Dave Arthur said he has made an appointment with Waterloo Liberal MP Bardish Chagger.

Originally it was to discuss the importance of keeping that promise on electoral reform.

But now "I think I will use it to tell her I will never vote Liberal again, will never donate another dollar and will actively campaign against her in 2019," he said.

Sharon Sommerville of Waterloo, co-ordinator of the local Fair Vote Canada chapter, said there were clues earlier that the Liberals were considering breaking the promise.

Trudeau had told the Quebec paper Le Devoir words to the effect that since he was elected by the first-past-the-post system, and since Canadians think his government is pretty awesome, the system must be OK and there's less urgency to change it.

Later, Liberals pretended they had always wanted a "broad consensus" before acting, though that was never stated as part of the original promise.

Trudeau said: "I am not going to do something that is wrong for Canadians just to tick a box on an electoral platform."

Is that all an election promise means to Trudeau? Ticking a box?

That speaks volumes about his integrity.

Sommerville said the group will continue its work despite this blow.

"The genie's out of the bottle," she said, pointing out that electoral reform is very popular with younger voters.

"The only way you're going to effect any change is to get together and start the work."

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Opinion polls also show that 59 per cent of Canadians think Trudeau should deliver on the promise he made.

"This is a throwaway promise to them," said Sommerville of the governing Liberals. "They don't think it's going to hurt them at the polls."

They really should think twice about that.

There are two things that we can learn from the surprise election of President Donald Trump in the United States.

One is that voters who feel that they've been disregarded and blown off by those in power have a way of getting their revenge.

The other is that it doesn't take a whole lot of them to tip the balance.

Luisa D'Amato Luisa D'Amato is a Waterloo Region Record columnist. She writes on issues affecting day-to-day life in the area. Email

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