Committed to voting change

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Justin Trudeau says he remains "deeply committed" to reforming the voting system.

The prime minister reaffirmed his commitment Thursday, one day after he appeared to be preparing to renege on his promise that the 2015 federal election would be the last conducted under the first-past-the-post process.

"I think it's important that a country as forward thinking and constantly improving and evolving as Canada is alert to opportunities to improve our systems of governance and the way we pick our governments," Trudeau said after taking part in the official opening of Amazon Canada's new warehouse and distribution centre in Brampton, Ont.

"That's a commitment we made in our election that I continue to be deeply committed to."

Trudeau's reassurance was in contrast to an interview published Wednesday in Montreal's Le Devoir newspaper, in which the prime minister said that any major reform to the voting system will require "substantial" support.

At the same time, he suggested that the public clamour for reform had subsided since the Liberals defeated Stephen Harper's Conservatives one year ago.

"Under the current system, (Canadians) now have a government they're more satisfied with and the motivation to change the electoral system is less compelling," he told Le Devoir.

The interview touched off accusations that Trudeau is preparing to abandon his campaign promise to scrap first-past-the-post, an oft-criticized voting system that resulted in Trudeau's Liberals winning 54 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons despite capturing less than 40 per cent of the popular vote.

NDP democratic reform critic Nathan Cullen told the Commons that the prime minister seems to think "that because he won the last election the system must now be perfect."