Canadian Plurality Electoral System In Canada
Canadian Plurality Electoral System does not represent a fair and democratic way of electing Canada’s government. In order to exercise a more democratic approach, Canada needs to adopt a proportional representative electoral system.
Democracy will never be a goal that is achieved; it is a process that countries are continuously striving to improve. There is a vast gap between what we expect and what the government delivers. In order to come closer to achieving a more democratic country, Canada needs to re-evaluate how they are distributing the number of seats in the House of Commons.
Canada currently operates under a plurality election system, also called, "first-past-the-post" system that means that the candidate with the most votes …show more content…
In other words, the votes of some are 15 times more powerful than the votes of others. Loenen makes note that the purpose (of the right to vote) cannot be less than to guarantee to citizens their full democratic rights in the government of the country and the provinces” (Loenen, 1997). He also mentions that such a fundamental right must not be diluted for some citizens by giving greater weight to the vote of others (Loenen, 1997). The court seems to be unaware that plurality electoral system regularly produces majority governments from a minority of the …show more content…
A proportionate representation electoral system is a way of voting where if a party obtains 30% of the popular votes, that party obtains 30% of the seats – vote share equates to seat share. This system like any system is not flawless and needs to be approximated correctly. There are many forms of proportionate representation that would be appropriate for Canada, one being Mixed-Member Proportional System (MMP) where each voter ranks the party in order of interest. For instance, there are five parties that are running for government, I would rank my first choice as NDP, second choice Liberal, third choice Green Party, fourth choice Bloc Quebecois, fifth choice Conservative. One must look at examples around our world where PR has been used with success. Denmark was the first nation to adopt this system in 1856, then Belgium in 1899, and Switzerland in 1901 and all which still use it up to current day (Balinski & Young, 2001). One nation unparticular that has turned to PR is South Africa. This is an enormous feat especially knowing what turmoil they have had to go through with racial and cultural diversity. Vernon Bogdanor
Democracy will never be a goal that is achieved; it is a process that countries are continuously striving to improve. There is a vast gap between what we expect and what the government delivers. In order to come closer to achieving a more democratic country, Canada needs to re-evaluate how they are distributing the number of seats in the House of Commons.
Canada currently operates under a plurality election system, also called, "first-past-the-post" system that means that the candidate with the most votes …show more content…
In other words, the votes of some are 15 times more powerful than the votes of others. Loenen makes note that the purpose (of the right to vote) cannot be less than to guarantee to citizens their full democratic rights in the government of the country and the provinces” (Loenen, 1997). He also mentions that such a fundamental right must not be diluted for some citizens by giving greater weight to the vote of others (Loenen, 1997). The court seems to be unaware that plurality electoral system regularly produces majority governments from a minority of the …show more content…
A proportionate representation electoral system is a way of voting where if a party obtains 30% of the popular votes, that party obtains 30% of the seats – vote share equates to seat share. This system like any system is not flawless and needs to be approximated correctly. There are many forms of proportionate representation that would be appropriate for Canada, one being Mixed-Member Proportional System (MMP) where each voter ranks the party in order of interest. For instance, there are five parties that are running for government, I would rank my first choice as NDP, second choice Liberal, third choice Green Party, fourth choice Bloc Quebecois, fifth choice Conservative. One must look at examples around our world where PR has been used with success. Denmark was the first nation to adopt this system in 1856, then Belgium in 1899, and Switzerland in 1901 and all which still use it up to current day (Balinski & Young, 2001). One nation unparticular that has turned to PR is South Africa. This is an enormous feat especially knowing what turmoil they have had to go through with racial and cultural diversity. Vernon Bogdanor