Our first Letter-Writing Workshop
Getting Letters To the Editor (LTEs) on Proportional Representation published in mainstream media is an important way for us to keep our issue consistently in front of the public and politicians.
So we held our first Letter-Writing Workshop on August 27 on Zoom! About 20 supporters learned from Joyce Hall and John Baumann about how to connect topics in news articles to electoral reform. We discussed key messages, talking points, resources to use when writing LTEs, and where to find posted articles: on our #letter-writing Slack channel, of course!
Whether you attended this first workshop or not, we encourage you to join us in writing letters for PR. Save the date for our first Writers’ Drop-In – Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 pm – where we’ll read an article, develop talking points and write a lead sentence.
Monday Night Zoom Hangouts
Every Monday we meet on Zoom to hangout, welcome new members, discuss proportional representation, give Slack help, and just check in with each other. Everyone is welcome! It’s a great way to get to know your fellow Fair Vote Toronto supporters. Check our Facebook page, sign up to volunteer on our website, or reply to this email for the link to join us.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, September 16th
Announcing the first in a series of monthly webinars! September’s guest speaker will be Dennis Pilon, an Associate Professor of Politics at York University in Toronto who has researched voting systems for over three decades. Dennis is an engaging speaker whose outspoken support for PR rests on his deep knowledge of its benefits. He will be presenting on the topic of “Who wants proportional representation in Canada, who does not, and why” and will hold a Q+A session afterward.
Tuesday, September 29th
Thinking about getting more involved with Fair Vote Toronto? Then come to our next Virtual Volunteer Rendezvous, on September 29! You will meet other volunteers, including the Fair Vote Toronto Action Team, and learn about our current projects to bring Proportional Representation to Ontario. Our volunteer activities include letter-writing, creating content for newsletters and social media, lobbying politicians, graphic design, making community presentations, and more. Find out what we’re doing and how you can get involved!
This year, 2020, marks 100 years since women gained universal voting rights, along with working-class Canadians. Women and wage workers were excluded from voting in most provincial and federal elections during the 19th and early 20th centuries — so they organized and campaigned for equal voting rights. These campaigns were hard-fought, and it took decades before they succeeded.
The general election of 1921 was the first that was open to all Canadian men and women over the age of 21. That is, except for Asian-Canadians, who couldn’t vote in elections across Canada until 1949. And Canada’s First Nations, who were the last Canadians to gain full voting rights, from coast to coast to coast: in 1969.