Canada’s first-past-the-post system is broken. Mixed-member proportional voting offers fairer results, local representation, and real democratic reform.
Great idea!! MMP! We do need to evolve the way citizens manage politicians and policies ...and that is really how it should be seen, no? Are there more experiments in accountability and responsiveness? We may have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make some changes...
I recently reread the report & toolkit by the government from 2017. Their are SO many types of electoral reform but so few who truly understand that. I'd love to see change, but it's gonna take a big team to tackle it.
I like the idea of PR and believe that MMPR is the best option BUT, until someone has an online calculator running along side the current FPtP system on election night so I can see/compare the results I am not interested. Sure, MAYBE the voters will behave differently IF they understand why they can change they way they vote. IMO too many are already unclear about how the FPtP works. You think they'll grasp a new and more complicated system? You lose me there.
And figuring out a low level cut-off to prevent an extremist minority from gaining balance of power. I’m thinking Israel here.
After the 2019 election I gathered all the populations of all the ED, put them into a spreadsheet to calculate what was needed to ~balance the populations of the EDs, maintained provincial & territorial integrity, the surplus and deficits, constitutional requirements (Example PEI 3 seats), how many seats needed where to balance, devised an MMPR system that might work then FAILED to create an Excel calculation that would provide results that a lay-person should want to understand/verify.
I believe I have done more homework on this subject than most and this leads me to my “show me” demand. The devil is in the details. Always. Especially in this case.
In Canada that = 0 @4.9% and 17 @ 5.1% A square wheel IMO.
My solution was to group ~10 EDs and do a mini MMPR in each. How/why 10 is long. Also processes to add EDs and move EDs between groups to suit population changes.
Can I suggest that you have a look at the system we use at Holyrood? It’s a hybrid system, where approx half of our MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) are elected on a FPTP system and the other half are made up of the votes for regional party lists. The end result is that the make up of parliament is roughly proportionate AND we have a specific MSP for each constituency. It gives us the best of both systems. It has worked really well.
Great summary. You clarified a few concepts for me. For as much as conservatives would clearly benefit across the country, I think it’s under appreciated that this would have a not insignificant benefit for the liberals in Alberta based on current polling.
Having MMP would help the ANDP and smaller parties maintain a presence in the provincial Parliament rather than being shut out with the UCP having a disproportionate share of representation as it is now.
I agree voters would be more satisfied with this system or at least more would be represented in government. However it’s not just individual voters that perceive Canadian democracy as broken, it’s the provinces/regions. We also need an elected senate that represents the provinces (along the lines of what the US has) and an elected executive (Governor General or president) that can hold parliament accountable and dissolve it when it’s clearly lost the mandate to govern.
The provinces and territories should also adopt MMP. Quebec had those reforms in place but placed them on hold because the status quo was very convenient for the ruling party at the time.
On the Federal level, I would rather they abolish the Senate or amend it to represent the provinces (along the lines of the German Basic Law) while the Governor-General can be elected and function similar to how the President functions in Germany or Finland in supporting the government, along with its existing role..
I would love to have mixed member proportional representation. But I have been told that the Canadian Constitution would need to be amended to permit it.
My impression is that Canada's rural areas are over represented in comparison to its rural areas. Some of this may be to the changes in population over the last decade such that 84% of Canadians now live in urban population centres. But the other rationale for such distribution is that some areas would effectively have no representation is population were the only measure. Mixed proportional representation might useful to ensure equitable treatment of smaller isolated populations.
We won't see improvements unless we try. The government under Trudeau and those before him have been largely perceived as being complacent or regressive. It's time to advocate for changes and ensure the retooled Carney government isn't for the status quo because it's not working. Pierre would just be regressive like his colleague Stephen Harper
If we went back to 2015, there could have been an alternate path forward where Trudeau didn't cave on his election reform promise. In hindsight, we're smarter now than we were then. The chances of Carney (if elected) moving on this are less than zero I think.
Yes, that is the tragedy of Trump's antics: they effectively sidelined other relevant issues despite undermining Pierre and the Tory agenda. Carney still needs to work on rolling out reforms and changes to the country or else we are stuck in another decade of complacency and dependence on the US.
Hi, I was raised and lived for many years in the Netherlands and liked the proportional representation system. It allows for a variety of opinions and every damn vote counts. Let's push this time to get this done in Canada as well and let's not get the liberals off the hook this time (if they win).
Absolutely given Justin Trudeau's biggest failure is not implementing electoral reform while his biggest achievement is legalizing cannabis. I'm skeptical about Carney pursuing electoral reform given it's not on the agenda and because many Canadians are more concerned about Trump's well-founded stupidity and threats
Great idea!! MMP! We do need to evolve the way citizens manage politicians and policies ...and that is really how it should be seen, no? Are there more experiments in accountability and responsiveness? We may have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make some changes...
Yes it's feasible if government pushes it. We all got burned when Trudeau dropped electoral reform
I recently reread the report & toolkit by the government from 2017. Their are SO many types of electoral reform but so few who truly understand that. I'd love to see change, but it's gonna take a big team to tackle it.
I like the idea of PR and believe that MMPR is the best option BUT, until someone has an online calculator running along side the current FPtP system on election night so I can see/compare the results I am not interested. Sure, MAYBE the voters will behave differently IF they understand why they can change they way they vote. IMO too many are already unclear about how the FPtP works. You think they'll grasp a new and more complicated system? You lose me there.
Yes if they understand how it works in New Zealand and Germany https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianreturnee/p/fixing-canadas-democracy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7loc6
At the same time it's a compromise between having geographic representation and party representation
And figuring out a low level cut-off to prevent an extremist minority from gaining balance of power. I’m thinking Israel here.
After the 2019 election I gathered all the populations of all the ED, put them into a spreadsheet to calculate what was needed to ~balance the populations of the EDs, maintained provincial & territorial integrity, the surplus and deficits, constitutional requirements (Example PEI 3 seats), how many seats needed where to balance, devised an MMPR system that might work then FAILED to create an Excel calculation that would provide results that a lay-person should want to understand/verify.
I believe I have done more homework on this subject than most and this leads me to my “show me” demand. The devil is in the details. Always. Especially in this case.
Germany has a 5% cutoff for proportional representation.
In Canada that = 0 @4.9% and 17 @ 5.1% A square wheel IMO.
My solution was to group ~10 EDs and do a mini MMPR in each. How/why 10 is long. Also processes to add EDs and move EDs between groups to suit population changes.
It has legs if you're able to explain it with an infographic or a video
Agree and my bar for that is/was to have a working spreadsheet so people could what-if to their heart's content.
Thanks for the example of MMP in Scotland. I hope a version of it is adapted in Canada
Can I suggest that you have a look at the system we use at Holyrood? It’s a hybrid system, where approx half of our MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) are elected on a FPTP system and the other half are made up of the votes for regional party lists. The end result is that the make up of parliament is roughly proportionate AND we have a specific MSP for each constituency. It gives us the best of both systems. It has worked really well.
Great summary. You clarified a few concepts for me. For as much as conservatives would clearly benefit across the country, I think it’s under appreciated that this would have a not insignificant benefit for the liberals in Alberta based on current polling.
Having MMP would help the ANDP and smaller parties maintain a presence in the provincial Parliament rather than being shut out with the UCP having a disproportionate share of representation as it is now.
I made a similar proposal here:
https://hoisttheblackflag.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-the-minority?r=26wsm2
I agree voters would be more satisfied with this system or at least more would be represented in government. However it’s not just individual voters that perceive Canadian democracy as broken, it’s the provinces/regions. We also need an elected senate that represents the provinces (along the lines of what the US has) and an elected executive (Governor General or president) that can hold parliament accountable and dissolve it when it’s clearly lost the mandate to govern.
The provinces and territories should also adopt MMP. Quebec had those reforms in place but placed them on hold because the status quo was very convenient for the ruling party at the time.
On the Federal level, I would rather they abolish the Senate or amend it to represent the provinces (along the lines of the German Basic Law) while the Governor-General can be elected and function similar to how the President functions in Germany or Finland in supporting the government, along with its existing role..
I would love to have mixed member proportional representation. But I have been told that the Canadian Constitution would need to be amended to permit it.
My impression is that Canada's rural areas are over represented in comparison to its rural areas. Some of this may be to the changes in population over the last decade such that 84% of Canadians now live in urban population centres. But the other rationale for such distribution is that some areas would effectively have no representation is population were the only measure. Mixed proportional representation might useful to ensure equitable treatment of smaller isolated populations.
We won't see improvements unless we try. The government under Trudeau and those before him have been largely perceived as being complacent or regressive. It's time to advocate for changes and ensure the retooled Carney government isn't for the status quo because it's not working. Pierre would just be regressive like his colleague Stephen Harper
If we went back to 2015, there could have been an alternate path forward where Trudeau didn't cave on his election reform promise. In hindsight, we're smarter now than we were then. The chances of Carney (if elected) moving on this are less than zero I think.
Yes, that is the tragedy of Trump's antics: they effectively sidelined other relevant issues despite undermining Pierre and the Tory agenda. Carney still needs to work on rolling out reforms and changes to the country or else we are stuck in another decade of complacency and dependence on the US.
Hi, I was raised and lived for many years in the Netherlands and liked the proportional representation system. It allows for a variety of opinions and every damn vote counts. Let's push this time to get this done in Canada as well and let's not get the liberals off the hook this time (if they win).
Absolutely given Justin Trudeau's biggest failure is not implementing electoral reform while his biggest achievement is legalizing cannabis. I'm skeptical about Carney pursuing electoral reform given it's not on the agenda and because many Canadians are more concerned about Trump's well-founded stupidity and threats