Proportional Representation

Canada’s democratic roots are as a Westminster system due to the responsible government that the Baldwin-LaFontaine administration of 1848 established as a reform movement for the government to be managed by elected citizens over colonial governors. These humble origins are the mechanical foundations of Canada’s democratic process and closely relate to Canadian values (Pilon, 2017, p. 106). However, Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system has been under scrutiny recently, and the debate of electoral reform to boost representation is at the heart of the issue. Alternatives to the current single-member plurality have been discussed and proposed at the federal and provincial levels, but the electoral attitudes are not engaging with the public. Electoral reform is not a new idea to Canadian voters, with Ontario and British Columbia hosting referendums towards electoral reform (LeDuc, 2011, p. 553). Even so, the quality of Canada’s democracy is at stake, and change is necessary to introduce a fair voting system and boost representation in government. Proportional representation makes Canada a more representative democracy because it reflects an elected government that firmly represents Canadian’s ideologies and beliefs.
Canada’s current first-past-the-post, also known as horse racing, is a system where the candidate who wins the most votes is the winner of their riding. One person, one vote approach seems fair and democratic, but David Moscrop (2016) argues that candidates and parties can win seats in parliament without gaining the majority in Canada’s multi-party system. So, if one party wins more votes, another party can win crucial battleground ridings and attain seats in parliament (p 3). It suggests a strategic voting direction, and the current electoral system fails at its most basic level of representation to Canada’s diverse opinions. It distorts the issues that matter to voters and interferes with citizens not getting what they want. Moscrop (2016) highlights that in the 2015 federal election, with a voter turnout of 68.3 percent, 131 out of 338 candidates received a majority vote in their riding. In that same election, the Liberal Party won with only 39.5 percent of the popular vote and went on to form a majority government. This event is known as “false majority” and granted the Liberal Party control of the House of Commons (p. 4).
The Law Commission of Canada (2005) states that the Elections Canada Act is unconstitutional, in that first-past-the-post is only the voters that cast the most ballots for a candidate that won their constituency. It excludes voters that support losing candidates and places the democratic values of equality and fairness into question. This fact appears to be no different from a spoiled ballot. Furthermore, first-past-the-post breeches the parity of voting power and the number of seats won compared to the votes received and did not reflect the diversity of opinions Canada offers (p. 38). Some electoral reformists have proposed alternatives and suggested changing the system to proportional representation, where the parliament’s party seat count will effectively represent the overall vote. Those supporting the proportional representation system argue that this form of voting is more democratic and can boost voter turnout. Under proportional representation, the promise of responsible government is met by having Canadians more actively involved in the policymaking that reflects their beliefs. Proportional representation keeps politicians accountable for campaign promises and contributes to the quality of Canada’s democracy (Couture, 2014, p. 7).
Moscrop (2016) explains that Canadians will cast a ballot according to their values and principles over strategic voting in proportional representation. In first-past-the-post, voters tend to be influenced and select the party with the best likelihood to win, shifting power to the major parties. The result is a disservice to Canadians, as a sitting “out of touch” parliament is impaired by various opinions and ideas that ignore Canada’s demographic diversity. Proportional representation allows voters to choose parties and candidates that best reflect their values and ideals and elect representatives into parliament (p. 18-21). These methods boost representation in parliament according to the vote, incorporate the basic principle of citizen participation into the government, and influence policymaking.
However, Lawrence LeDuc states, proportional representation has different variations, and the most recognizable is mixed-member proportional, a system used by Germany and New Zealand and was considered by British Columbia in 2018. This structure has two ballots, first, choosing a local candidate in their local riding, decided by the first past the post winner and one preferred party. Each party’s candidates can win seats in their local ridings and gain seats based on the percentage of the popular vote it receives from the second ballot. This means if a party did not win any riding, they could still have MPs elected. This setup requires parties to get a minimum percentage of the popular vote or win a riding outright to have representative MPs. Proportional representation also means smaller parties have an easier passage to being elected and representing their constituents. It can be done by increasing the number of seats in the house of Commons or shrinking the number of local MPs to make room for candidates on the party list (p. 552-554). Liz Couture (2014) further supports that proportional representation captures an electorate’s true feelings and transfers votes into seats. The system combines various methods such as ballot designs, district sizes according to members and geographic boundaries, and finally, calculating the vote count and declaring the elected official (p. 4).
Proportional representation enables Canadians to voice their opinions and directly influence the policymaking process through their elected MPs. If a party wins one or more seats, they are directly accountable to their voters and are more inclined to propose various opinions and ideas into legislation that shape government according to Canadian values. In a proportional representation system, demographic representation is easier to achieve. The result is a more representative democracy, with citizen participation in the government as the foundation in the mechanical process of our democracy. It represents the diversity of opinions and ideas of Canada’s regional configuration and encourages parties to expand their approach to voters (Moscrop, 2016, p.16). Heather Maclvor (1999) argues that “proportional representation systems are designed to produce the greatest proportionality in translating seats into votes … creating legislature which closely mirrors the political preferences of the electorate” (p. 53). The Supreme Court of Canada considers the voting process as “a route to social development and rehabilitation,” and interprets the citizen movement as the authority to Canada’s democracy. Proportional representation elections offer moral and intellectual campaigns with politicians more willing to listen to the average Canadian to win their vote (Katz, 2011, p.601).
Since proportional representation better grasps the values and beliefs of voters, it also more effectively captures the demographic makeup of the Canadian state. With proportional representation, it ensures minorities such as women, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, LGBTQ, and other representation mirror the legislature. It poses fewer barriers and grants authority to minority groups. These developments encourage minorities to be politically savvy and vote, but they can also inspire people to participate in the electoral process and be candidates themselves. Once elected, they become that representative official and become the government movement that directly influences policymaking and keeps the parliament accountable (Bird, 2011, p.531). This build-up is one of the core principles of democracy that encourages the value of equality, fairness, and justice that functions as a responsible representative government and contributes to the quality of Canada’s democracy. Under this system, minorities have fewer obstacles and aim to achieve demographic representation than the single-member plurality. This further demonstrates that the proportional representation system begins with fewer wasted votes that directly influence policymaking through representation and encourages democratic participation (Moscrop, 2016, p.19).
The representation of minorities in a multicultural Canada introduces a diversified set of ideas and inputs that shape legislation and aims to function as a fair voice for all in the government. This idea means parties need to address or adopt certain beliefs and ideologies that cater to a diversified platform and advocate as many voters as possible. McMaster University Professor Karen Bird (2021) suggests that Canadians desire inclusion as a representative governing democracy and are more connected to the system depending on the political rules. In a proportional representation, political parties that promote minorities in the makeup of the country’s regionalism are more likely to have a voice in parliament. This provides more control over legislation and policies that affect them and ensures that the different perspectives are represented (p.533).
However, in a proportional representation system, the structure is not perfect, considering the purpose is to promote representation. Cases can arise where a specific party wins a riding, but then other party votes, which could be numerous other voters, can be a mixture of other parties. Many different variants, such as mixed-member proportional, as discussed earlier, or ranked-choice ballot often used in party leadership races, can deter citizens from understanding the electoral mechanics. Reform is confusing to many ordinary citizens and could explain why Ontario and British Columbia did not adopt to change their voting system. Dennis Pilan (2007) argues that proportional representation is not a subject voters understand. Ordinary voters do not have thoughts on Canada’s voting systems, and the electoral process seems more of an inconvenient choir, an obligation is performed once every four years. The result is that political parties tend to institutional rules and develop policies that reflect party interests (p.61).
Canada will keep casting their vote with first-past-the-post for the foreseeable future. In any case, proportional representation has been discussed with Ontario and British Columbia, and a referendum has been held to decide on changes. Proportional representation encourages citizen participation in government and benefits from the diversity of ideas and opinions of Canada’s multicultural system. Government officials are responsible for election promises, and political parties need to diversify their platforms to win voters and express their opinions. The proportional representation portrays the ideals and beliefs of Canadians and makes Canada more democratic.

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