Those uncomfortable conversations are essential, and I appreciate that you're putting in the work. It's not about "deprogramming" so much as encouraging critical evaluation of news sources.
Media literacy is becoming increasingly vital as we approach the election. The challenge is that many people don't realize how their media consumption shapes their political views—they just see it as "the news."
What's worked for me is asking questions rather than making statements. "Where did you hear that?" followed by "Have you verified that information with a Canadian source?" opens the door without creating immediate defensiveness.
Your dad's willingness to engage with alternative sources shows he values truth over tribal politics, even if reluctantly. That's actually quite rare these days and worth appreciating.
The "betraying the community" feeling is something I've noticed with older conservatives too. There's this sense that changing one's mind is somehow disloyal, when really it's just part of being an informed citizen. Democracy depends on people who can evolve their thinking based on new information.
Jokes aside, Canada Proud isn't a news media organization, so it doesn't make sense to compare it. I didn't even include The Beaverton for similar reasons.
It's not about being a "gotcha" - it's about demonstrating a pathway to better democratic representation.
You're right that EU membership would only require PR for European Parliament representatives initially. However, this would create several significant opportunities:
Practical demonstration: Canadians would experience firsthand how an electoral system that ensures every vote counts actually works, rather than just hearing theoretical arguments.
Institutional precedent: Once PR is successfully implemented for one electoral body, the argument that it's "too complex" or "un-Canadian" becomes much harder to maintain.
Democratic legitimacy gap: Having representatives to the EU Parliament elected through PR while our own MPs are chosen through FPTP would create an obvious legitimacy contrast that would be difficult to justify.
The Liberal leadership vote using preferential voting actually supports this point. Internal party processes already recognize the limitations of FPTP - they just don't extend those same democratic principles to the general electorate. In fact, all parties, even the Conservatives, use superior electoral systems to FPTP.
The reality is that 76% of Canadians support electoral reform according to recent polling, but our major parties benefit from maintaining a system that systematically discards votes. Exposure to functioning PR would make the democratic deficit in our current system increasingly apparent.
It's just that there is a lot of political news permitted into !canada@lemmy.ca. It can also sometimes be hard to distinguish between notable news. For example, if there is a new Prime Minister, should c/Canada allow it? It does have significant implications for Canada.
Carney had to make some changes to demonstrate he’s not JT
Yes, I can get the sense for this, so I agree.
reduced the size of cabinet for a more wartime stance given the tarriff war we’re in. Also to perform austerity (less ministers to pay extra) while not actually doing austerity (they are responsible for more)
That's actually pretty smart. The PMO should broadcast this point more.
Those uncomfortable conversations are essential, and I appreciate that you're putting in the work. It's not about "deprogramming" so much as encouraging critical evaluation of news sources.
Media literacy is becoming increasingly vital as we approach the election. The challenge is that many people don't realize how their media consumption shapes their political views—they just see it as "the news."
What's worked for me is asking questions rather than making statements. "Where did you hear that?" followed by "Have you verified that information with a Canadian source?" opens the door without creating immediate defensiveness.
Your dad's willingness to engage with alternative sources shows he values truth over tribal politics, even if reluctantly. That's actually quite rare these days and worth appreciating.
The "betraying the community" feeling is something I've noticed with older conservatives too. There's this sense that changing one's mind is somehow disloyal, when really it's just part of being an informed citizen. Democracy depends on people who can evolve their thinking based on new information.