On His Way Out, Trudeau Says He Regrets Not Implementing Ranked Choice Voting

Justin Trudeau
Photo under creative license CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2022 – Source: EP
Published: 07 Jan, 2025
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
2 min read

Photo under creative license CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2022 – Source: EP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation this week after nearly a decade in power, reflected on his time in office and says he has one regret: He wished he had implemented ranked choice voting.

 “I do wish that we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second choice or a third choice," he said in his resignation statement.

"So, the parties would spend more time trying to be people’s second or third choices.”

Trudeau became the 23rd prime minister of Canada in 2015.  He is also the head of the Liberal Party, which has become filled with discontent over his leadership amidst notable losses in parliament and support.

The ability to choose a second or third choice in an election is a voting method known as ranked choice voting (RCV), which gives voters the opportunity to rank candidates in order of preference instead of selecting only one candidate.

RCV is used in 51 American jurisdictions, including 2 states (Alaska and Maine), 3 counties, and 46 cities. In total, this accounts for approximately 14 million voters who are represented under RCV elections in the US alone. 

Trudeau alluded to one of the main arguments used by RCV advocates in favor of the reform. When candidates and parties have to campaign for people's second and third choices, it means they need broader appeal and a civil approach.

IVP Donate

After all, a candidate won't win over voters if they throw mud at a person's first choice. 

"And people would be looking for things they have in common, instead of trying to polarize and divide Canadians against each other," Trudeau added. "I think in this time, figuring out how to pull together and find common ground remains something that is really important for democracies.”

Check out the full resignation announcement above.

In this article

Related articles

I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
Time Square at night.
Why Do New York City Elections Look Like Such a Mess?
For the third time in history, New York City voters used ranked choice voting (RCV) to determine their party nominees in Tuesday’s citywide primary elections. First implemented in 2021, the system was used in that year’s highly competitive Democratic primary, where Eric Adams ultimately secured the nomination and went on to become mayor. It was used again in 2023 without incident....
24 Jun, 2025
-
10 min read

Latest articles

Elon Musk in front of the US Capitol Building.
7 Things Elon Musk Needs to Do If the America Party Wants to Be More Than a Meme
The World’s Richest Man Will Have to Overcome America’s Toughest Political Obstacles — Here’s What It Will Take to Make His America Party Thrive...
08 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Oklahoma State Capitol Building.
Lawsuit Slams Oklahoma Law as ‘Unconstitutional Sabotage’ of Open Primaries
Two Oklahoma veterans – one a pediatrician, the other a U.S. Coast Guard commander – have filed a legal challenge to SB 1027 in Oklahoma, a law they say unconstitutionally targets their statewide citizen initiative to implement open primaries, State Question 836 (SQ 836)....
08 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read
Elon Musk
Musk vs The Duopoly: Will the America Party Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, and former Director of the Department of Government Efficiency, has officially launched the America Party, framing it as a challenge to what he calls a “one-party system” dominated by wasteful government spending....
07 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read