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This sort of behaviour is hardly new. During the Canadian Alliance leadership race in 2000, candidate Tom Long famously apologized for his organizers in Quebec signing up hundreds of fake members.

It’s bananas. It's Third World nonsense

“You have to do it properly,” an unnamed senior Conservative told the National Post’s Sheldon Alberts then, amazingly. “You have to secure a name of a dead person and (register) that name (with) a known friendly address … and after that you can phone in. But the Gaspé guys thought they could make a fast buck by registering false individuals.”

I don’t know if this is more of a problem in conservative parties, or whether we just hear more about it for some reason. But it’s bananas. It’s Third World nonsense. And an astonishing number of partisans seem willing to tolerate it with a nudge and a wink — the way it’s always been, you know? This is behaviour that would quite rightly land people in prison during a general election.

How much practical difference it makes is open for debate. A “real” Conservative voter who has no interest whatsoever in the Conservative Party of Canada beyond protecting his dairy concern isn’t all that much faker than a “fake” Conservative voter who’s sitting at home in blissful ignorance while someone else votes in his name. But surely this just highlights the insanity of this model of grassroots participation: sell as many memberships as you can, however you can, seeking no commitment other than to vote for the guy selling it for whatever office he’s seeking. How could that not lead to bad results?

The Ontario Tories have been on a wild ride since Brown’s meltdown. It may yet culminate in a thumping majority government. But if any party has cause to take a second look at this membership model, it’s them. If this 407 ETR scam is borne out in the next couple of weeks, it could leave a heck of a bruise.

• Email: cselley@nationalpost.com | Twitter: cselley