Voting Systems How We Vote in Canada

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Voting Systems First Past the Post (FPTP) Proportional Representation (PR) Referendums

First Past the Post (FPTP) In FPTP systems, the winning candidate is simply the person who wins the most votes. In theory, a candidate could be elected with two votes, if every other candidate only secured a single vote. FPTP systems are mainly used in former British Empire countries, like Canada

Majority Government There are two types of Governments that can come out of a FPTP election: Majority or Minority Governments. A Majority Government occurs when the party who leads the government has more seats than all the opposition parties combined.

Minority Government A Minority Government occurs when the party who leads the government has the most seats, but not more than the opposition parties combined.

A Minority Government Is Unstable A Minority Government is very unstable because the leading party can be out-voted on any issue and decisions cannot be made. The leading party must ally itself with the other parties in order to get bills passed and decisions made. If the leading party is outvoted in parliament (a non-confidence vote), people lose confidence in the government, parliament dissolves and a new election is called.

Proportional Representation (PR) gives political parties in parliament or legislative assemblies a number of seats approximately proportional to the percentage of votes they received. PR systems are used in Israel and The Netherlands.

Proportional Representation +/- Positives Negatives Every vote counts Reflects will of voters better Larger voter turnout Smaller parties get ideas represented in Parliament Creates many Minority governments Slower Harder to get decisions made May not be a person there from your local area

Referendum 3. Referendum: a process of allowing citizens to decide on an issue or question by means of a direct vote (a plebiscite, or public vote). In Quebec, two referendums on sovereignty took place, in 1980 and in1995.

Electoral Reform Organizations Voting System Reform in Canada www.fairvote.ca

Electoral Reform www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (Ontario) www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca

Electoral Reform??? Pierre Poilievre: Minister of State for Democratic Reform, Canada