(Quebec) It is time to put an end to the “open bar” that allowed political parties to spend lavishly on advertising of all kinds several months before the start of the election campaign.
Posted at 3:44 p.m.
This is at least the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ), who is concerned about this issue and believes that a tightening of electoral law is necessary.
“We must give everyone an equal chance,” said Pierre Reid, during a long interview recently with The Canadian Press, requested in anticipation of the election campaign, which will begin at the end of the month.
In this regard, Mr. Reid’s concern, in office since 2015, is to ensure a balance between the principle of fairness between all parties, while preserving their freedom of expression.
Currently, there is in the law “no rule that applies” before the start of an election campaign, he laments, the parties can therefore multiply advertising campaigns and try to influence the result of the vote. , without it being counted in the election expenses which are capped. The risk that a better off party will have an advantage is very real.
“There is a concern”, on this subject, says Mr. Reid, convinced that “there should be a maximum amount” of advertising expenditure authorized in the pre-election period, both for the parties themselves and for third parties, it that is to say companies or organizations that would like to influence the vote, trade unions or pressure groups, for example.
This is one of the perverse effects of fixed-date elections: parties and third parties can plan their advertising strategy according to the date of the elections.
There is therefore no doubt in the mind of the CEO that the time has come to “rethink” and “update the electoral law”, particularly on these issues.
The CAQ loves advertising
Need we remember that all political parties are not all equal, in terms of financial means?
Without wanting to label a particular party, “the CAQ has done a lot of publicity,” notes the DGE. Other parties have also used it, but since the spring, the party in power, the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), has been particularly active, increasing pre-election advertising campaigns praising the government’s record and especially the merits of the Prime Minister Francois Legault.
In May, the CAQ launched an advertising offensive, boasting in particular of having passed Bill 96 on the French language. Problem: the bill was still not adopted. The minister responsible, Simon Jolin-Barrette, had to apologize for his party’s blunder.
In July, the CAQ was the subject of strong criticism on social networks and from opposition parties, because of a television advertisement in which appeared an elderly lady from the Mauricie region who is an unconditional fan of François Legault. Some blamed the party for underpaying the lady, which the party leadership denied.
At the end of July, the daily The sun calculated that between April and July, the CAQ alone had spent on Facebook and Instagram the equivalent of the advertising budget of the four other parties represented in the National Assembly combined, or $38,500.
The CEO says he wants to keep a “watch” and further his thinking on the subject, with a view to increasing the accountability required of the parties. He also recommends creating a register that would record the names of third parties and their role played during the pre-election period.
Participation rate down
The presence of advertising outside the election period is not the CEO’s only concern, far from it. The steadily declining turnout in the general elections is also a source of concern for him.
In 1976, when the Parti Québécois was elected for the first time, it was 85%. In the last elections, in 2018, it had dropped to 66%. This means that one out of three Quebecers chose not to exercise their right to vote.
The indifference, even the disavowal, of the population of Quebec towards the democratic process particularly strikes young people. Among 18-34 year olds, we will see roughly one out of two voters shrug their shoulders on voting day, yawn with boredom, renouncing to exercise their role as citizens even once every four years.
However, the CEO will recall, “everything is there” in terms of the modalities to facilitate the exercise of the right to vote: at the polling stations on voting day, by mail or in advance. The options are multiple for certain clienteles: you can vote in residential centers for the elderly, at university, at CEGEP, in palliative care homes, in particular.
There will be no miracle to convince voters of the importance of availing themselves of the right to vote, a fundamental milestone of democracy.
To hope to reverse the trend, especially among young people, Mr. Reid says that we must not bet only on the CEO, but on all the actors of society: the family, the school, the media, the company.
Always with a view to facilitating access to the ballot box, we are talking more and more about electronic voting, but Quebec has not yet reached that point, explains Mr. Reid.
On the technical level, there are too many imponderables, too many possibilities that a “bug” will occur at the wrong time.
In any event, where it has been implemented, internet voting has had little impact on turnout, he says.
And if ever there was a technical glitch, it would undermine voters’ confidence in the process, he adds, anxious to do everything possible to avoid this scenario.
In this regard, to implement electronic voting, he believes that it will be necessary “to go there gradually, in stages”, by means of pilot projects with targeted groups.
Will we be able to vote while sitting in front of our computer, or tapping on our cell phone, during the 2026 election? No. At most, a few pilot projects are planned to test this avenue.