Proportional Representation

Canada's First Past the Post electoral system produces results that are deeply skewed away from vote/support by party. We must change this for a multitude of reasons especially rebuilding trust in our democratic institutions.

In the 2019 federal election, the Liberal party won 157 seats - 46.4% - with 33.1% of the popular vote¹. This is very extreme, but is very much the norm for Canada. What if we had had some form of Proportional Representation?

Calculated by Radio Canada², with a pure PR system the Liberals would have had 112 seats - and the Green party would have had 22 instead of 3. Conversely, Conservative seats would decreased by only 4 and would have had a slight lead. In most comparative countries, this would lead to stable minority or coalition governments such as New Zealand's government which has handled COVID-19 so well.

If it had been a Mixed Member non-compensatory ballot? Liberal minority with 142 seats, Greens with 9. Mixed Member compensatory system - the one recommended by the House of Commons 2016 Special committee on Electoral Reform - would have lead to 117 Conservative seats, 112 Liberals, 22 Greens.

As is easy to see with these numbers, any form of PR would be highly advantageous in making votes actually count.

Ensure that the 2019 election is the last “first past the post” election. By March 2020, we will launch a Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform with the mandate to make recommendations to parliament on an electoral system that would “make every vote count.” Legislative changes to implement the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly would be made in time for the 2023 federal election.

- 2019 GPC Platform

At this point, it unfortunately clear that the Liberals will again fail to deliver on Proportional Representation - as they have for the last century, first running with calls for proportional representation in 1921 under William Lyon Mackenzie King³.

This means that the next election will certainly be under First-Past-the-Post, and quite likely the one after if there are not major changes in this election.

My policy priority would be to support PR in all jurisdictions - whether Quebec in 2022 or other provinces or preferably federally. I do believe that federally we need to just enact PR. Then have a scheduled referendum after the first election so that people can become familiar with it and the effects.