mackaycartoons

Graeme MacKay's Editorial Cartoon Archive

  • Archives
  • Kings & Queens
  • Prime Ministers
  • Sharing
  • Special Features
  • The Boutique
  • Who?
  • Presidents

Thursday March 1, 2012

March 1, 2012 by Graeme MacKay
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
Share

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday March 1, 2012

Political dirty tricks have a long and sordid history in Canada

Outraged opposition MPs assure us that the robocalls controversy is the worst degradation of democracy in a century-and-a-half of Canadian history. They may be a bit too focused on today.

Dirty tricks are nothing new in Canadian politics. In fact, they’re as old as the country itself. The rough-and tumble-politics of post-Confederation Canada included a much looser definition of “ethical campaigning” and outright vote buying fell well within that.

The use of call centres and automatic dialling machines to steer opposition supporters to non-existent polling stations is a uniquely modern mix of technology and skullduggery, but the Fathers of Confederation were quite capable of their own unplugged chicanery.

Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, says politicians kept detailed lists of their constituents’ preferred bribes — ranging from a few dollars to a bottle of whiskey — well into the 20th century.

He says the practice was so common that one MP actually spoke out against the introduction of the secret ballot in 1874 on grounds that he wouldn’t know he was getting value for his bribes.

Wiseman said the MP reasoned: “If I’ve paid somebody good money to vote for me, if he goes behind a curtain I don’t know how he voted, he may have voted for somebody else.”

And where did the bribe money come from? Well in the 1872 election, it was clear that Sir John A. Macdonald and his Conservative party got some of their money from the Canadian Pacific Railway. That became the Pacific Scandal which drove Macdonald from office. (Source: Winnipeg Free Press)

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: Canada, Conservative, derby, dirty, High Road, Liberal, Low Road, mud, NDP, Parliament, politics
← Wednesday February 29, 2012
Monday March 5, 2012 →

Social Media Connections

Link to our Facebook Page
Link to our Flickr Page
Link to our Pinterest Page
Link to our Twitter Page
Link to our Website Page
  • HOME
  • Sharing
  • The Boutique
  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • Artizans Syndicate
  • Association of Canadian Cartoonists
  • Wes Tyrell
  • Martin Rowson
  • Guy Bado’s Blog
  • You Might be From Hamilton if…
  • Intellectual Property Thief Donkeys
  • National Newswatch
  • Reporters Without Borders Global Ranking

Brand New Designs!

Your one-stop-MacKay-shop…

T-shirts, hoodies, clocks, duvet covers, mugs, stickers, notebooks, smart phone cases and scarfs

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
Follow Graeme's board My Own Cartoon Favourites on Pinterest.

Archives

Copyright © 2016 mackaycartoons.net

Powered by Wordpess and Alpha.