REP BY POP: MAKING VOTES REALLY COUNT? Introduction In his play Jumpers, Tom Stoppard puts However, while this sounds reasonable, Focus society’s assumptions about democracy critics of the system point out that FPTP The winds of to the test when one of his characters unfairly rewards parties with phony change may be sweeping across says, “It’s not the voting that’s democ- majorities, distorts the real election the Canadian racy. It’s the counting” (Jumpers, Act results when compared with the popular political landscape. 1). While Stoppard’s quote is presented vote, and encourages regionalism. Take What was once comically, it is eerily appropriate for a look at the results of the 2004 election thought of as Canadians who are currently asking in the table below for a better under- improbable may themselves if their votes are really standing of these concerns. soon become possible. This News being counted. The 2004 election resulted in the in Review feature formation of a Liberal minority govern- looks at the grow- Does Every Vote Count? ment. Because they won less than half ing frustration with Many people believe that Canadian of the seats in the House, the Liberals Canada’s first-past- democracy, founded on the British the-post electoral would have to count on the support of system and the parliamentary model, has become other parties if they wanted to form a possible introduc- antiquated and archaic. While certain of government and pass legislation. They tion of propor- the Westminster institutions continue to came up 20 seats short of the magic tional representa- hold their merit, the electoral system number of 155 needed to form a major- tion to address itself is raising calls for dramatic trans- ity government. In Canada, majorities Canada’s demo- cratic deficit. formation. Why? Because, when put rule, and, if past statistics tell the story, Party Seats Won % of Seats in % of the H. of Commons Popular Vote Liberal 135 44 36.71 Conservative 99 32 29.61 Bloc Québécois 54 18 12.40 NDP 19 6 15.69 Other 1 .32 5.60 Total 308 100 100 Source: Canada Votes – www.cbc.ca under the political microscope, it ap- the Liberals only needed a modest boost pears that many Canadians are not in the popular vote to take advantage of getting what they are voting for. Canada the FPTP system and win a majority. uses the “first-past-the-post” (FPTP) Notice how the percentage of the popu- electoral system. Put simply, Canada is lar vote is exaggerated when it is trans- sectioned off into 308 different electoral lated into seats in the House of Com- districts. The candidate who wins the mons for the Liberals. Scan down most votes in each district earns a seat further and look at the success of the in the House of Commons. Advocates Bloc Québécois. Since they are a re- for FPTP like the ease involved in gional party, all of their votes were electing and forming governments. concentrated in the province of Quebec, CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 18 and the Bloc was able to win 54 seats in What’s Next? Quote the House. Meanwhile the NDP, with a It is likely that a modified form of “Elections are to broad base of support across Canada, proportional representation (PR) will be democracy what weddings are to managed to beat the Bloc in terms of introduced at the provincial level before marriage. In de- the popular vote but only won a fraction anything happens at the national level. mocracy, as in of the seats in the House. These kinds Britain, which has found itself in the marriage, you have of discrepancies have led some people same predicament as Canada, has to work at it or lose to express their frustration with FPTP introduced proportional voting in it.” — Joe and have raised the call for electoral Schlesinger, Time Scottish and Welsh elections. In Zones: A Journalist reform. Canada, it is likely that the five prov- in the World, 1990 inces mentioned earlier will find a way A Made in Canada Solution to incorporate proportional voting, Drawing on voter frustration, a citizens’ perhaps by their next elections. It is group called Fair Vote Canada has unlikely that a purely proportional emerged as a powerful voice for the model would be introduced federally. electoral reform movement. It wants the What is more likely is a blend of FPTP government to enter into a meaningful and PR. dialogue with voters on election reform followed by a referendum on the imple- Conclusion mentation of a fair voting system. As Advocates for PR believe that voters well, the Law Commission of Canada will feel that their voices are being has published a report that is sharply counted in a proportional system. In critical of FPTP and has called on the turn, PR could foster a sense of respon- government to make the current elec- sibility and more active involvement by toral system more proportional. Their more people in the political process. “made in Canada” solution calls for a Time will tell if PR is a remedy for the Parliament composed of two thirds of democratic deficit or just another MPs selected in riding elections and political trend. However, according to one third selected from party lists based Larry Gordon of Fair Vote Canada, we on the proportion of the popular vote are at the “tipping point” on election that each party earns. reform (The Globe and Mail, April 14, 2004). In Canada, elections and gover- nance may soon change dramatically. Questions 1. What problems are associated with FPTP? 2. What steps are being taken in Canada to bring about remedies for the democratic deficit? 3. Consider the Tom Stoppard quote at the beginning of the article. How does the quote reflect the political reality in Canada? 4. As a young and/or future voter, how important an issue is PR to you? Explain. CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 19 REP BY POP: MAKING VOTES REALLY COUNT? Video Review 1. Why are electoral reform movements gathering momentum in Canada? Respond to the questions on this page as you view the video. Be 2. Why was the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly formed? prepared to discuss your findings. 3. What will B.C. do with the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly? Did you know . 4. What is the electoral model that we inherited from Britain called? “Rep by Pop” was a major political battle cry in 5. What does Heather MacIvor mean when she refers to disproportional Canada West results? (Ontario) before Confederation? 6. Name the five provinces leading the movement toward electoral reform. 7. Briefly describe the “made in Canada” model of proportional representa- tion. 8. What are Brian Crowley’s concerns about a movement toward propor- tional representation? 9. What is a coalition government? Do you think coalitions can work in Canada? 10. Political scientist Brian Crowley says “any reform requires people who have won under the old system to volunteer to give it up.” Do you think that the Liberals, the party that consistently wins the most seats in Parlia- ment, will agree to proportional representation? Explain. CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 20 REP BY POP: MAKING VOTES REALLY COUNT? Majority and Minority Governments in Canada In order to fully come to grips with the bickering will lead to legislative CBC Archives way Canadians are governed it is im- gridlock or the defeat of the govern- To learn more portant to draw a distinction between ment in a confidence vote that would about elections in Canada and see majority and minority governments. result in an early election. Also, since actual footage of Canada currently uses the first-past-the- power is more or less shared, questions past election post (FPTP) or single-member plurality of accountability often arise. Thus, campaigns, go to (SMP) system. In this system, candi- minority governments are seen as www.cbc.ca/ dates compete in ridings, with the potentially unstable and lacking in archives and click candidate who wins the most votes in a accountability. Some feel they are too on “elections.” You might also visit the riding winning a seat in the House of weak in times of crisis or war. official Elections Commons. It is a very efficient way of Despite the fact that minority govern- Canada site at selecting a government. However, some ments are often a cause for concern for www.elections.ca question its fairness. The goal of the many, the track record of Canadian for information larger political parties is to have as minority governments is quite impres- about past elec- tions, your own many of their candidates as possible sive. Minority governments have man- electoral district, win in their ridings. If a party can aged to pass legislation dealing with and materials for manage to win more than half the seats pensions, universal health care, loans to young voters. in the House of Commons, they can university students, and economic form a majority government and pass nationalism. In fact, 30 academic legislation unimpeded by the opposi- experts consulted by the Institute for tion. However, if a party wins the most Research on Public Policy to determine seats, but not a majority of the seats in the effectiveness of minority govern- the House, they form a minority gov- ments concluded that minority govern- ernment. In this case, the governing ments have passed some of the most party needs to strike deals with other important legislation in our nation’s parties if they hope to maintain the history.