It’s bad enough when Stephen Harper shows his contempt of Parliament; this week we got to see just how little he thinks of the act of voting itself.

The outcome of Monday’s by-elections was largely predictable: Conservatives held their seats in Alberta, Liberals held one and stole another from the NDP in Ontario. It’s unlikely that different timing for those by-elections would have produced different results. But by opting to wedge the election on the one day between a weekend and a national holiday, Harper — who made the ultimate call — effectively sent Canadians the message that elections really don’t matter.

Of course, Canadians have to take a certain amount of the blame here, too. After all, the vast majority of eligible voters in Alberta took a pass on both of their by-elections. In raw numbers, that means the new MP for Fort McMurray, the heart of the Alberta oilpatch, was elected by 47 per cent of 16 per cent of eligible voters — or 7.1 per cent of the riding’s voters. The numbers weren’t much better in any of the three other by-elections.

But maintaining democratic institutions requires leadership — and through robocalls, the in-and-out scandal, the allegations against Dean Del Mastro, these institutions have taken a pounding recently. At no point in the past decade has Harper stood up for the electoral process. This week’s by-elections were just one more sign that the guy in the big chair doesn’t give a rat’s rear for the institutions of democracy — only for the spoils of power.

It would be easy to look the other way on this one. After all, Harper could argue he was doing the voters in those four ridings a favour by giving them a free pass on that whole voting thing.

To make it all that much worse, just one day after pulling this electoral stunt, Harper, in his Canada Day address, had the audacity to laud Canada as “the best country in the world … (because) … It’s the moms and dads who pass on to their children Canadian values: working hard, doing what’s right, and determination to be our best.” He also thanked people in uniform for having “always been willing to give their lives to protect our freedom, promote our values and pursue peace.”

Maybe it’s telling that at no point on Canada Day did Harper talk about democracy or democratic ideals. Then again, it’s apparently not something for which he takes responsibility. His oath of office: “I, Stephen Joseph Harper, do solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will truly and faithfully, and to the best of my skill and knowledge, execute the powers and trust reposed in me as Prime Minister, so help me God.”

Nothing about democracy in there. Who knew?

It would be easy to look the other way on this one. After all, Harper could always argue he was doing the voters in those four ridings a favour by giving them a free pass on that whole voting thing: If you’re around, great — here’s where you vote. But if you’d rather take a four-day weekend (like most Canadians did), don’t sweat it. The status quo works just fine.

But how should we feel when the one person who is supposed to embody the spirit of democracy treats it like it’s something optional — a quaint nicety that people used to fight and die for?

Maybe it’s time to re-write the prime minister’s oath of office, adding in the obligation to respect and promote our democratic ideals to the best of his/her abilities. Maybe it’s time for Canadians to start giving a damn again.

James Baxter is editor and publisher of iPolitics.