Here are all the times the Conservatives changed election rules without a referendum
People who live in glass houses...
The Conservatives continue to insist that any change to Canada's electoral system requires a referendum.
“When you change the rules of democracy, everyone gets to have a say", says interim leader Rona Ambrose. "If the Liberals want to make a fundamental change to our country’s voting system, the process must not be dominated by one political party’s interests."
Let's review all the times the Conservatives changed the rules of Canadian democracy without a referendum, shall we?
Fixing election dates
In May 2007, the Conservatives passed Bill C-16 which fixed future Canadian elections to the third Monday of October every four years. (Barely a year later, the Conservatives broke the spirit of their own law by calling an election for October 14, 2008).
Eliminating the per vote subsidy
After winning a majority in 2011, the Conservatives introduced the "Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act", slipping in changes to the Elections Act that eliminated Canada's per-vote subsidy which awarded parties $2 for every vote they received.
Critics were quick to point out that opposition parties stood to lose the most from the change.
Adding seats to the House of Commons
Bill C-20, passed in December 2011, legislated a new formula for determining the number of MPs each province would get and the House of Commons grew from 308 to 338 seats.
At the time, critics worried that the new seats would mostly appear in Conservative strongholds.
The Unfair Elections Act
*NOTE: This list does not include many of the changes hidden in omnibus bills.
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