QUEEN'S PARK -- "Once again, the Premier is shamelessly using the pandemic to push through legislation that is driven by his own agenda and that will do absolutely nothing to help Ontario recover from COVID-19. The government’s meddling in local decision-making by scrapping ranked ballots came as a complete surprise to Ontario municipalities, especially London, the only city to have used this voting system.
London’s leadership in running a successful ranked ballot election in 2018 has been recognized across Canada, but the Premier’s interference means that not only are the one-time expenses in tabulator algorithms, additional auditors and voter education now lost, but the city will face new costs to revert back to first-past-the-post. How exactly does overriding local democracy and forcing London to abandon ranked ballots save municipalities money?"