2019 Federal Election

[danbrotherston]

Well, the real opposite of "authoritarianism" is broad individual freedom. Concentration of power is only part of it. And while it's true that the powers of the House of Commons are concentrated in the PMO when we have a majority government, and that might be a problem, the powers of the state are not particularly highly concentrated in the House of Commons to begin with. A majority government still has to compromise with the Senate, with existing legislation as interpreted by the courts, and of course with the provinces.

Edit to add: I think it would be hard to argue that uncertainty in government is anything but bad. Even if policies are not in your interest, that's going to happen sometimes, but with general certainty of the policies that will be implemented, citizens can prepare for them and do their own planning with them in mind. Less uncertainty is not the primary consideration, but it definitely is one.

I think concentration of power is part of limiting individual freedoms.  For example, the liberals are right now, seeking to limit my freedom to vote for my party of choice (and yes, social pressure is limiting of freedoms, although not as tyranical as actual laws).  As for compromise with the senate...that's a good joke....and the courts, sadly that's rather funny too given that the courts have declared the provincial governments cancelling of cap and trade as illegal, and yet, we still have no cap and trade.  But regardless, yes, there are checks and balances....like everything, this is a spectrum, not an either or, people who support a "strong" government run by a single party with only a minority of public support are in favour of a more authoritarian dictatorial government than those who prefer a "weaker" minority government which finds broad compromise and support among a majority of the population.