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OTTAWA The Liberal government is breaking its promise to change Canadas voting system, though just yesterday it was stringing along opposition parties with hopes for collaboration.

New Democrat Nathan Cullen met with new minister Karina Gould Tuesday, and told the National Post she seemed keen and open to collaboration with all parties. She told him, he said, that she was considering his idea for parties to co-draft electoral reform legislation.

At the time, he said it might be a good sign that Gould seemed so curious about other parties positions.

Less than a day later, Cullen was standing outside the House of Commons calling her boss Justin Trudeau an outright liar.

Without warning Wednesday, Liberals dropped the bomb, in Goulds ministerial mandate letter, that they wont change how Canadians vote despite a black-and-white election promise and months of studies and consultations.

What Mr. Trudeau proved himself today was to be a liar, Cullen said, accusing the prime minister of a lack of courage for not making the announcement himself. It puts into question any commitment, any promise Mr. Trudeau makes or has made in the past.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Gould, who recently replaced predecessor Maryam Monsef, sidestepped questions about why the governments online survey (MyDemocracy.ca) didnt specifically ask Canadians about whether they want reform, or what type of voting system they prefer.

Our view has always been clear. Major reforms to the electoral system, major changes of this magnitude, should not be made if they lack the broad support of Canadians, she said.

But as Green Party leader Elizabeth May pointed out in question period, the need for broad support did not enter into the Liberals public statements until well after they were elected. Why was that never mentioned in any promise or mandate? she asked.

May and Cullen were on a special parliamentary committee that studied electoral reform last summer and fall. It found about 90 per cent of the experts it heard from, and almost 90 per cent of people who attended town halls, supported proportional systems.

For the Liberals to say thats not enough of a consensus clearly shows the stupidity and the arrogance and the entitlement, in fact, that somehow because theyre Liberals they can get away with making that kind of argument, Cullen said.

Those numbers only reflect the views of people who were plugged-in enough to the conversation that they showed up to town halls or sought out consultations. But random polling also suggests support for reform.

An EKOS Politics poll of 1,622 Canadians in October found 51 per cent of Canadians felt the electoral system should be changed, and 59 per cent felt electoral reform is something the Liberal Party campaigned on, so they should deliver on this promise though 57 per cent agreed its too important to be rushed.

In a second phase of that research, with 688 respondents drawn from the original sample, pollsters found 62 per cent of people would move ahead with replacing first-past-the-post, and 63 per cent would prefer proportional representation over a preferential, or ranked, ballot.

An Angus Reid Institute poll of 1,516 Canadians found two types of proportional systems, including mixed-member proportional one that includes local representation would be competitive versus first-past-the-post. The poll, released at the end of November, also found 75 per cent of people would want a referendum on any major changes the desire for which was a sticking point with Conservatives throughout the debate over reform.

Liberals said repeatedly during the election campaign, in their platform and in their first throne speech that the 2015 election would be the last using first-past-the-post.

I have long preferred a preferential ballot, the members opposite wanted proportional representation, the official opposition wanted a referendum. There is no consensus. There is no clear path forward, Trudeau said. I am not going to do something that is wrong for Canadians just to tick a box on an electoral platform.

In Cullens view, it seemed like the strategy became that once Mr. Trudeau wasnt going to get his way, his exact system, well then clearly they had to kill the whole process dead.

Email: mdsmith@postmedia.com | Twitter: mariedanielles

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Liberals break electoral reform promise less than a day after signalling collaboration with opposition - National Post