1. In Canada and Around the World

2. Before you can understand voting you need to see the results so you know what we are talking about. The following slides show the Canadian Federal election of 2004 as an example.

3. The 2004 Federal Election To the right you will see a chart showing the popular vote (% of people) who voted for each of the major parties during the 2004 election. PARTY% of the Vote Bloc Quebecois12.4 Conservative29.605 Liberal36.705 NDP15.69 Other5.6 Total100.00

4. One possible result of 2004 election The table to the right shows what the results of the 2004 federal election would be IF each party received the same percentage of seats as the percentage of votes that it won. PARTY% of the Vote % of the seats Bloc Quebecois 12.438.2 Conservative29.60591.2 Liberal36.705113.1 NDP15.6948.3 Other5.617.2 Total100.00308

5. Actual Results of 2004 election The chart to the right shows the actual number of seats that each party won during the 2004 election. PARTYNumber of Seats Bloc Quebecois54 Conservative99 Liberal135 NDP19 Other1 Total308

6. The Difference The chart to the right shows the difference between the actual number of seats won and the number of seats that would have been won based on popular vote. PARTYNumber of Seats Actually Won % of the Seats by Popular Vote Change Bloc Quebecois 5438.2+15.8 Conservative 9991.2+7.8 Liberal 135113.1+21.9 NDP 1948.3-29.3 Other 117.2-16.2 Total 308 0 So the question you should be asking is: Why is there a difference?

7. The answer is two fold: 1. That Canada decides who represents Canadians based on electoral districts not popular vote. The following slides show our electoral maps. 2. How Canadians vote changes who gets elected. So we will look at voting systems as well.

10. The following slides show what type of electoral system Canada uses as well as several others that are used around the world. As always it is up to you to decide which one of these systems is best.

11. First Past the Post Voting (FPP) The voter only votes for one candidate and whoever gets the highest number of votes is elected. It is the easiest vote counting system to calculate results. The winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily an absolute majority (50% + 1). FPP is used in the United Kingdom, Canada, India, and the United States.

12. Preferential Voting (PV) Electors must rank all candidates by placing the number ‘1’ for their preferred candidate and consecutive numbers from ‘2’ for their 2nd choice, ‘3’ for their 3rd choice and so on until all candidates are numbered. If no candidate has an absolute majority, the candidate with the lowest number of 1st preferences is eliminated, and their ballot papers are examined for 2nd preferences to be assigned to remaining candidates in the order as marked. The totals are then checked and this process is repeated until one candidate has an absolute majority. PV is used in the Australian federal House of Representatives and in Nauru.

13. Two Round System (TRS) The TRS is conducted in the same way as an FPP election and if a candidate receives an absolute majority of votes, they are elected. If no candidate receives an absolute majority a second round of voting is conducted, often a week or two later and the winner of this round is declared elected. The TRS is used in countries such as France, Mali, Togo, Egypt, Iran, Belarus and Ukraine.

14. List Proportional Representation (List PR) List PR is used in multi-member electorates where votes are cast in order of preference for the parties which have registered a list of candidates. Parties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the total vote and winning candidates are taken from the lists in order of their position.

15. Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) A proportion of the parliament is elected by majority methods, usually from single-member electorates, while the remainder come from PR Lists. Under MMP systems, the List PR seats compensate for any disproportions produced by the district seat results. MMP is used in countries such as Germany, New Zealand, Italy and Venezuela.