Canada needs electoral reform
By D. Wayne Cooper
Justin Trudeau recently broke his campaign promise of electoral reform. This issue has seemingly flown under the Canadian public’s radar largely because it is in the best interests of two dominant parties to retain the archaic and flawed first-past-the-post British electoral system which has guaranteed them power for 150 years.
For six months, an all-party committee consulted the public, deliberated, and finally recommended a proportional representation electoral system to the federal government. Predictably, Mr. Trudeau ignored that advice and conducted his own online survey designed to produce “no consensus”.
Why was proportional representation favoured by the committee on electoral reform? That format would give every Canadian voter a voice – not just those who vote for the winning party. Under proportional representation, a party receiving five per cent of the popular vote would actually be awarded five per cent of the seats in Parliament. Compare that with the 2015 federal election results wherein the winning party received under 40 per cent of the popular vote yet won 54 per cent of the seats in Parliament and formed a “majority government”. That’s a flawed voting system!
What would a proportional representation system mean to Canadian voters? Firstly, every vote would count. Policy and legislation would require consensus and would better reflect the values and diversity of Canadians as a whole. The government would be forced to incorporate the views of all parties and act in the best interests of all Canadians – not just those of the political and financial elite. In effect, a fairer voting system would produce real and much needed change.
Under our current electoral system, a vote for change is a vote that doesn’t count. That grim reality surely reduces voter turnout. It is my hope that, one day, Canadian electors will demand and be given a proportional representation electoral system whereby they’ll be truly enfranchised.
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I’m a retired teacher and Huntsville native. I’m not a member of any political party nor have I financially supported one. I’ve researched this topic and feel that electoral reform is the key to effectively changing the political landscape in Canada.
Mr. Cooper, I was a student of yours in Etobicoke, at Norseman. I hope you are doing very well, Sir!
Have 2 respectfully disagree with Hugh’s respectful disagreement with Wayne. Bring on the instability of change – Canadians can handle it. Leave behind the Party Pooh Bahs, party hacks, the favouritism for friends & the large donors – we all know Canada’s long history of constituency representation has offered up plenty of that.
I would ask Hugh to do more research. There are various forms of proportional representation. Under a mixed member proportional representation system, the voter has two votes – one for his/her choice of local candidate and another for choice of party. So in that example, a voter directly elects the member of Parliament for his/her riding and endorses a party platform.
I agree that proportional representation leads to more minority governments which better reflect the values and diversity of Canadians. Imagine a political system that thrives on cooperation instead of confrontation.
I am not opposed to some type of electoral reform but I respectfully disagree with your support for proportional representation. Canada has a long history of Constituency representation. Proportional representation would do away with local members of Parliament. In fact there would be no elected Members of Parliament. They would all be appointed by Party hacks on the basis of the percentage of votes they receive across the country, risking favoritism for their friends, large donors, etc. Because the Party Pooh Bahs are all in the big cities, rural communities like Muskoka would lose important representation. I want my member of Parliament to be directly elected . Further, under proportional representation, it will be more difficult for any single Party to form a government, which can lead to instability. A much better solution for reform would be a ranked ballot, where voters list their second and third choices until one candidate in every constituency emerges with a majority of votes.