'Perform on reform': Torontonians protest Trudeau's broken promise

Hundreds gathered in Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday afternoon, decrying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's broken promise to reform the electoral system.

"We feel betrayed," said Antony Hodgson, president of Fair Voting B.C., an non-profit advocating for fair voting systems. "We feel that our trust in him, in his party, in his promises has been completely set aside."

"Living in a democracy halfway just isn't good enough," echoed Nidhi Tandon, one of the protesters.

Trudeau had repeatedly promised to replace the current first-past-the-post-system before the next federal election. 

• Liberals abandon promise of electoral reform
• Trudeau's promise of electoral reform: From 'we can do better' to accusations of betrayal
• Trudeau says national unity more important than electoral reform

But the prime minister abandoned that commitment earlier this month, saying there was a lack of "consensus" for a new voting system.

Alex Lavasidis, one of the organizers of the protest, said she voted Liberal because the party campaigned on electoral reform.

She said Trudeau can't claim there's no consensus when many people don't understand the issues with the current voting system.

"The government hasn't done a good job of helping people understand what this issue is," she said. "So you can't claim that there's no consensus if you haven't even helped spread the word on what this is."

The Toronto rally was one of several protests across Canada as part of a national day of action. 

• Dozens rally for electoral reform in Winnipeg, saying Trudeau reneged on promise

Hodgson said it's critical that people across the country push back against Trudeau's decision.

"If politicians feel that they can break promises and suffer no consequences, they'll keep doing that," he said.

"He made this promise unequivocally... and he relied on it to get himself and his MPs elected in the last election."