Essay On Canadian Electoral System

Our right to vote is guaranteed in Canada under section 3 of Charter of Rights and freedoms but many people don’t exercise this right. Regardless of our right, Canadian voter turnout in recent years has been disappointing. In past few decades, there has been a gradual decrease in voter turnout in Canada, dropping significantly since 1988. Conversely, in the 2008 federal elections, voter turn out had reaching an all-time low, where, just under, 59 percent of eligible voters actually voted. The low turn out raised questions and concerns whether Canadian democracy and the electoral system are effective. Often, high volume of voter turnout is indicative of a healthy democracy and aids in determining people’s confidence and satisfaction with the
Mainstream political parties such as the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party of Canada have dominated the political scene for many years. [6] Minority political parties such as the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP), the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party although attract supporters, it is difficult for these parties to obtain power in the parliament because of the structure of the Canadian electoral system. The electoral system plays a great part towards the dissatisfaction of the political parties by the general public for the reasons that it advantages the main political parties and disadvantages the minority parties from a fair representation. Canada practices the “single member plurality” also known as the “first past the post” electoral system in both federal and provincial elections. [7] This type of an electoral system allows the leader of the political party with the most votes to form a government; [8] thus allows the candidate from a party in a constituency to win even if he or she does not attain 50 percent of the votes. [9] As a result, the “single member plurality” electoral system benefits majority parties such as the Liberal Party of Canada or the Conservative Party of Canada for it creates a “clear-cut choice” for voters to choose from the two focal parties. [10] Consequently, minority parties are overshadowed by mainstream parties therefore deters a percentage of eligible
Moreover, it is known that youth who don’t vote remain uninvolved in the political system, and abstain from voting as they age. One method of increasing voter turnout, therefore, is to encourage and educate the youth on the importance of electoral participation. Provided initiatives are; the possibility is to encourage candidates and political parties to address Canadian youths more directly during election, by addressing youths directly at high schools or university campuses, and by discussing issues that important to youth voters. Another possibility is to encourage youth participation through the use of modern forms of media and communication, which are used to a larger extent by younger Canadians. Better-educated individuals are more inclined to vote and participate. Educational institutions should implement a curriculum that educates the youth of the political system, and teach them how participation in political matters will heighten the democratic system in