Democracy is threatened. For the first time in nearly all our living memories, democracy is losing battles to the tyranny of a hateful and fearful minority. This toxic voice won first in the United Kingdom and again in the United States. And now, thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reneging on his critical election promise of Electoral Reform, democracy is threatened in Canada.

The events unfolding today are beyond the experience of nearly all of us. But there are some few still alive who recognize it, who went to war to rid it from the world. They remember the signs; they recognize them once again. They remember the politicians who derilicted their duties, who stood by and promised “peace for our time.”

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain promising “peace for our time” after meeting Adolf Hitler in 1938.

Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has a duty to protect Canadian democracy. He has derilicted that duty by keeping the door open for future minority voices to attain majority rule, as has happened in 7 of our past 11 elections, as Trudeau attained in 2015.

Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. While no democracy is without sin, the ideal of a people governing themselves still stands as the cornerstone belief of human freedom and peaceful prosperity. No form of governance, no matter the danger, no matter the fear a people might face, can better protect peace and freedom both within a nation and around the world.

Three-quarters of a century after Winston Churchill stood to defend democracy from tyranny, the world is again reeling from frighteningly similar circumstances. The rhetoric of hate, long simmering beneath the lid of public propriety, has found new safe harbour in the dark corners of the internet. Free of the checks and balances of broader human morality, these coteries of hate magnify and embolden the worst of human fear-mongering.

“Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.”

Our world has changed in a generation. Twenty years ago, peoples in free nations were ruled by democracies that were held in check, at least in part, by a populace informed by a free and open press. To be sure, this was a flawed system, with too much vested interest in hiding truth by turning a blind eye or distracting attention by courting a salacious one. But the world’s democratic governments were largely held accountable to the majority will of the people by an organized press.

Then, almost overnight, the internet shrank the world, magnifying every voice. Today there is a broadcast studio in every pocket. The press has become democratized, and with that, the power of the traditional press has weakened.

A democratized press is the worst form of broadcasting truth, except for all the rest. It will work better than a small minority of robber barons curating what truths a populace can hear, but this transitionary period from oligarchic to democratic press faces unique perils. Perils we see today.

Three hundred years ago, Jonathan Swift wrote, “Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it.” Variations of that thought have echoed through the centuries before and since because it witnesses an essential truth of the human experience. Alternative truths can comfort.

While independent thought will eventually expose lies and out truths, our instincts are tuned to respond reflexively to fear by turning to the safety of the herd. We have evolved a trust-bias for lies that play to the fear of others and the protection of kin. Our evolutionary ancestors that did not have that fear-trust reflex died out long ago, taken by predator or destroyed by neighbour.

No matter if it’s spoken by the very people who have oppressed them, for the marginalized the voice of fear and hate can be a beacon of hope.

This ancient instinct explains how the atmosphere of fear and hate has gained ground during these first few years of a democratized press. While the majority of independent thinkers squabble over the differences between perfect and best, the minority that is most prone to the fear-trust reflex, the marginalized, the desperate, and the betrayed, they yearn for a voice they can flock to. Welcome is any voice that empathizes with their plight, that plays to their fears, and that promises they will be safe. No matter if it’s spoken by the very people who have oppressed them, for the marginalized that voice of fear and hate can be a beacon of hope. They rally to it. They need it.

Our centuries-old electoral laws were designed during the infancy of modern democracy. Over time, their archaism has begun to show.

There have always been a dangerous few who are especially adept at manipulating our fear-trust reflex. Churchill saw it in the 1930s; we see it today. Seldom though has fear and hate swayed the majority. That should be a win for democracy, but not all democracies are equally democratic. In many nations, including Canada, the democratic electoral processes are flawed.

Our centuries-old electoral laws were designed during the infancy of modern democracy. Over time, their archaism has begun to show. Old strengths have become new flaws. Flaws which have been and will be exploited again by those seeking to rule by minority. As Justin Trudeau rules in Canada.

Hitler’s Nazis never got more than 37% of the vote in a fair election, decreasing to 33% just before the Burning of the Reichstag and seizure of power. It was a back-room deal that brought Hitler the Chancellorship, and the violent paramilitary brownshirts who stole him absolute power. More recently, we see Trump scrabbling for autocratic powers after coming in second place with 46% of the popular vote. In both cases, a minority voice of fear and hate subverted democracy sufficiently to take power from the broader voice of reason and peace.

Canada has seen (relatively) benign dictatorships. So far.

In Canada our democracy is already subverted, and our stakes are even greater. The Prime Minister of a modern majority government holds near-dictatorial power, with few practical checks and balances. And yet, our flawed electoral system makes it far easier to attain that absolute power, regularly awarding majority governments to parties earning 40% of the vote. Justin Trudeau now holds this power. He attained it with 39.5% of the vote.

The Flaw in Canada’s ‘First Past the Post’ Electoral System

This is a flaw in our democracy. Thankfully, Canada has seen (relatively) benign dictatorships. So far. But the world is changed. We are witnessing now examples that show how easily fear and hate can be whipped into a population. This wave of hate is surging worldwide. It is in Canada. We have already begun to feel its deadly effects.

In this moment of democratic crisis, when the dangers of fear-based minority rule threaten our nation, Trudeau has ceded the one weapon we have to protect us: democracy itself.

Two weeks into the American democracy’s existential crisis, its minority voice of fear and hate spilled into Canada when a supporter of Donald Trump reaped the Islamophobia he has sewn and opened fire on a mosque full of people praying in peace.

Three days later, Justin Trudeau reneged on his promise that the 2015 Federal Election would be the last to feature the flawed ‘First Past the Post’ electoral system, the very system which brought him near-dictatorial power on 39.5% of the vote, the system which guarantees that same undemocratic outcome will regularly occur, and which will likely bring a hateful and fearful minority to power in Canada.

That minority voice of fear and hate is already on the march. It has already won major battles against our ally democracies. It is spreading into Canada. We must fight it. It is our duty.

The timing for Trudeau’s decision is shocking. In this moment of democratic crisis, when the dangers of fear-based minority rule threaten our nation, Trudeau has ceded the one weapon we have to protect us: democracy itself.

As reason for yielding the fight to save Canadian democracy, Trudeau cited a heavily slanted poll taken by fewer than 1.3% of the voting population, many of whom were in favour of Electoral Reform. However in the 2015 election, Canadians expressed a strong desire to see a system of more Proportional Representation, with 63% of voters chosing candidates from parties promising Electoral Reform eliminating First Past the Post, which heavily favours a two-party system, in favour of Proportional Representation, which offers a more democratic result, more choice, and more freedom to vote your preference instead of strategically.

Abandoning Electoral Reform and opening Canada to the imminent threat of hate and fear mongerers will be the defining low-point of Trudeau’s legacy.

The true reason for abandoning that promise is not lack of public support, it is not for the good of Canada or its people, it is because Trudeau thinks his party can benefit by wining another majority with 39.5% of the vote. However, with a stronger voice of hate and fear, with a split left vote, and without a strong anti-Harper sentiment, it is unlikely his party will be able to keep power out of the hands of a hate and fear.

Prime Minister Trudeau may cling to the craven hope of doing more good with more power, but he leaves the door open for the next minority-dictator who is unlikely to be so benign.

Abandoning Electoral Reform and opening Canada to the imminent threat of hate and fear mongerers will be the defining low-point of Trudeau’s legacy. Inaction now will likely bring a demagogue to near-dictatorial power in Canada. It is Trudeau’s “peace for our time” moment.

As citizens of Canada, it is our duty to protect our democracy.

But perhaps we can do what our Prime Minister is unwilling to. We as a people can rise to protect our democracy. As the new democratized press has shown us, individual voices raised in protest and resistance can affect needed change.

As citizens of Canada, it is our duty to protect our democracy. We must use our voice. Use our pocket broadcast studios. We must shout loud and long that Electoral Reform is the single greatest issue facing Canada. Climate policy, economics, social services, everything else is at risk when a tyrant can gain absolute power with 39.5% of the vote.

Anybody who is willing to fight hate and fear should join one of the Electoral Reform protests being organized across Canada. Speak up on social media. Contact the Prime Minister and insist on more Proportional Representation. Sign the petition for Electoral Reform. Use the power of your magnified voice to protect Canadian democracy.