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You are reading an article written by a citizen of eRepublik, an immersive multiplayer strategy game based on real life countries. Create your own character and help your country achieve its glory while establishing yourself as a war hero, renowned publisher or finance guru.

buying votes is nothing new.

Day 1,496, 04:25 • Published in Canada Canada

• by screamingslave

Good Morning Canadians.

This evening i was having trouble sleeping and so i was reading Wikipedia. dont ask.

Anyway i came across an interesting article about how Sir John A Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, was left with no choice but to resign from office over a huge scandal.

The scandal goes something like this: John and his conservative friends receive money (alot of it in those days) from the owner of a railway company. The party uses that money to bribe voters in the election of 1872, as back then there was no secret ballot (this actually led to the introduction of that practice) and in exchange for all this the railway guy got the contract to build the railway across canada that was promised to BC for it to join confederation.

Now if that isn't awesome enough, then there is a recession, and his replacement from the liberal party Alexander Mackenzie is blamed, so of course as you all know Sir. John gets voted back to the job as prime minister in 1878 to see the completion of said railroad while in office in 1885 before his death (still PM) in 1891.

So not only did he get caught taking a corporate "donation" in exchange for favors, he also bribed voters, and canada still re-elected him, for 13 more years.

I know this is just a game but..... I dunno... maybe we are fighting a lost cause? 😛

Comments

Crock Crosby Day 1,496, 05:22

Canadians are just to nice

Chochi Day 1,496, 11:36

We don't seem to focus that much on this period of our history, certainly not compared to the way Americans focus on the early years of their country (then again, they pretty much skip over the next few decades until their civil war, so they have gaps in their knowledge, too).

I remember learning about this scandal and the corrupt elections we had in a 3rd year university class about early Canadian political history. Elections would take weeks so the same guys from each party could go across the country and try to bribe everyone to vote for them. Usually liquor was enough. They'd have a list you could sign and change your votes over a few days. Good times.

As far as buying votes here is concerned, it's like Acacia Mason recently sai😛 you can get ahead in this game with money if you want, but there's more satisfaction in earning something for yourself.

screamingslave Day 1,496, 13:21

very well said chochi, acacia was right!

T.E. Lwrence Day 1,496, 22:41

Chochi usually says things right.

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