Political tensions are rising as Canada heads for the 45th federal election on April 28th. The SNAP vote, triggered by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sudden resignation in January, reshaping the country’s political landscape. Now, Mark Carney is facing the former central banker, Liberal leader and prime minister and conservative chief Pierre Polyeill, who is garnering voters with tax cuts, tougher immigration and promises of bold economic reform.
As Canadians prepare to vote, memories of the 2011 Robocall scandal still remain.
What happened in 2011?
During the 2011 federal election, RoboCholes (automatic telephones) began targeting voters, particularly at close ranges (constituencies), where elections were expected to be tough.
These calls claimed to be from Canadian elections and provided false information about the location of the polling station and the time of the vote. As a result, many voters, especially those in the liberal and New Democrats (NDP) regions, were either sent to the wrong polling station or failed to vote.
How did it become clear?
The scandal began to unravel when several voters began reporting strange calls, giving them false information about where or when they would vote. At first the problem seemed isolated, but as more and more complaints were poured it became clear that this was no coincidence. The investigation began to look at who was behind the phone and why they were being made.
Who was behind it?
It was discovered in 2012 that a call was made by Michael Sona, a Conservative Worker from Guelph, Ontario. Sona was found guilty of intentionally preventing or trying to prevent the electors from voting. In 2014 he was convicted and sentenced to nine months in his role.
Many believed that Sona acted alone, while others suspected that the scheme was larger and could involve more people within the Conservative Party.
The Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper at the time, said they had nothing to do with Robocoll. However, the damage was done. The party won the majority government in the 2011 election, but many began to question whether the election was fair. The scandal left a bad mark on victory.
In 2011, Stephen Harper became Prime Minister for the third term, but after leading two minority governments in 2006 and 2008, this was his first majority government.
