I laughed to read the Ontario election date, long ago fixed for October 4, had to be unfixed. It happened to conflict with a religious holiday, so it wasn't fixed anymore (moved back a few days, in fact). Dumb decisions, dumb consequences.
Running for the US presidency costs a minimum of $100 million. And if you are not a candidate already, pretty much two years before the election, it's too late. That's what fixed election dates are good for. Everyone counts back from the day and decides to start running and spending just before everyone else does.
The best thing about Canadian elections is they only last 3o days. It's been proven again and again that enormous changes can take place during the campaigns, and that the incumbancy advantage of being able to choose the date is minimal. Fixing that minor irritant with fixed election dates produces disadvantages that are huge.
As one of the proponents of fixed election dates liked to say, "It's a no-brainer." That's for sure.
