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| You are here: Home > Features > Electoral Reform Movement in Canada |
Electoral Reform Across Canada
Highlights of electoral
reform initiatives, outside of British Columbia
Several other provinces, as well as the federal government, are
looking into the issue of electoral reform. This section provides
an overview of approaches taken thus far.
Prince Edward Island
In 2002, following growing public concern over the lack of an effective
opposition party in the province, the provincial government began
exploring the issue of electoral reform. In early 2003, the government
created an independent commission to examine electoral reform
in PEI, appointing retired Supreme Court Justice Norman Carruthers
to head the Commission. The mandate of the Commission was to
determine the relevance of an alternative electoral system, such
as proportional representation, for Prince Edward Island. The
Commission’s mandate also included reviewing the statutes
regulating how MLAs are elected to the provincial legislature.
In April 2003, the Commission released a discussion paper examining
four models of proportional representation. This was followed
by a series of public hearings throughout the province, where
members of the public were invited to provide feedback on the
discussion paper, either through oral or written submissions.
In December 2003, the Commission released its final report. It
made the following recommendations concerning changes to the
province’s electoral system:
- The electoral system should be modified to include some
from of proportional representation.
- The existing electoral system should be changed in a way
that meets the specific needs and concerns of Prince Edward
Islanders. With growing dissatisfaction among residents
with the current (FPTP) system, many feel it is very important
that each MLA represents a specific geographical district.
- The electoral system most likely to find acceptance among
the public is the mixed member proportional system (MMP)
(whereby a certain number of members continue to be elected
by FPTP, and a certain number are elected on the basis
of party vote).
- The Commission suggested electing 21 members by FPTP, and
10 members on the basis of party vote. In addition, they
suggested a regional form of MMP, with the province divided
into four regions, and list MPs from each of the four regions
represented in the legislature.
- The people of Prince Edward Island should have the chance
to vote on the modified electoral system.
- Before a vote takes place, the government should make a
concerted effort to consult with, and educate, the public
on the different types of electoral systems.
- A Citizens’ Assembly, based on the model of the BC
Citizens’ Assembly, should be established to formulate
a referendum question on the proposed electoral system.
- The referendum question should be clear and concise.
- The referendum should not be held at the same time as a
provincial election.
- Any changes or modifications to the current electoral system
should be designed very carefully to ensure there will
be increased representation for women in the provincial
legislature.
- The province should establish a fixed date for elections,
or provide a very small window of time in which an election
can be called.
Currently, an all-party committee is examining the report. Premier
Pat Binns has stated he would like the public to have a chance
to vote on changing the electoral system before the next provincial
election, which must be held by the end of September, 2008.
Quebec
Upon coming to power in 1976, the Parti Québécois
briefly considered and rejected the idea of changing the electoral
system to a proportional representation system. Public interest
in electoral reform, however, intensified in the wake of the
1998 provincial election, which saw the Parti Québécois
win a majority government, even though the Quebec Liberals received
a higher percentage of the popular vote. (The PQ received 42.9
percent of the popular vote and won 76 seats, while the Liberals
received 43.5 percent of the popular vote and won 48 seats).
This is the same scenario that awakened public interest in electoral
reform in British Columbia, and led to the creation of the BC
Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (see Section Four:
Leading the Way: Electoral Reform in
British Columbia).
In January 2002, the PQ government gave National Assembly Speaker
Jean Charbonneau a cabinet position as the minister responsible
for the reform of democratic institutions. In the fall of 2002,
the National Assembly’s Committee on Institutions released
a discussion paper on electoral reform, and proceeded to hold
public hearings on the discussion paper. In late February 2003,
the government convened an “Estates General on Democratic
Governance,” consisting of nearly 1,000 delegates. While
some of the delegates favoured a new electoral system for Quebec
based on pure proportional representation, the majority voted
for some form of mixed proportional representation.
A change of government in May 2003 did not stall the electoral
reform movement, as all three major political parties incorporated
electoral reform into their campaign platforms. In June 2003,
the newly elected Liberal government committed to following through
on the recommendations of the Estates General. However, the Liberals
did not provide specific details of how the new electoral system,
based on the mixed member proportional model, would work in Quebec.
In November 2004, the Quebec government announced it would introduce
a draft bill on electoral reform in early 2005. Highlights of
the draft legislation are as follows:
- It will propose a mixed member proportional system.
- Of the 125 seats of the Quebec National Assembly, 75 will
be constituency seats elected under the first past the
post system, with the remainder to be regional list seats,
selected to ensure proportional representation of the parties
in the legislature.
- A major difference between the Quebec proposal and other
MMP systems (and the proposal for electoral reform in PEI
) is that voters will not cast two votes. Instead, voters
will cast a vote for their local candidate, and the regional
seats will be assigned based on the total number of votes
all of the party’s candidates received in a specific
electoral region.
- Critics argue Quebec’s “watered-down” version
of MMP, which allows voters to cast only one vote, doesn’t
provide good proportionality and will work against smaller
parties. For example, a voter will be unable to vote strategically
on the first ballot, and then cast a second ballot for
a smaller party whom they support but which has no realistic
hope of winning the election. Similarly, critics argue,
the Quebec model denies the voter the ability to select
both his preferred political party and, at the same time,
a strong local candidate who represents a different party.
Ultimately, the 50 regional list seats will reflect choices
the voters make while operating within the constraints
of the FPTP system.
New Brunswick
In the May 2003 provincial election, the Progressive Conservatives
campaigned on a promise of reforming New Brunswick’s electoral
system, and followed through on that promise after being elected.
In December 2003, the government formed a Commission on Legislative
Democracy to study electoral, legislative, and democratic reform.
The Commission’s mandate: to make recommendations on strengthening
and modernizing the province’s electoral system and democratic
institutions, in order to make them more fair, accountable, accessible,
and open. The Commission’s terms of reference include studying
proportional representation systems, and proposing a specific
model that ensures fairer representation, greater equality of
votes, an effective legislature and government, and a continued
role for directly-elected MLAs representing specific geographic
boundaries. The terms of reference also include proposing a new
referendum Act.
The commission’s final report was due by December 31, 2004.
The terms of reference make it clear that the government expects
the Commission to recommend a mixed member proportional system.
The government has committed to holding a province-wide referendum
on the new electoral system.
Ontario
In November 2004, the Ontario government announced it will appoint
an assembly of citizens to decide whether Ontario ’s current
electoral system needs to be changed, and, if so, to examine
different electoral options for the province. If the citizens’ assembly
recommends changing the system, the public will have the chance
to vote on the proposed changes in a province-wide referendum.
Also in 2004, the government passed legislation establishing fixed
date elections. The next electon will be held on October 4, 2007.
It’s uncertain whether the referendum would be held before,
or in conjunction with the next provincial election.
The Federal Government
In the Speech from the Throne, on October 5, 2004, the federal
government announced its intention to “examine the need
and options for reform of our democratic institutions, including
electoral reform.” Significantly, the commitment to consider
electoral reform was not initiated by the governing Liberals.
Instead, it was part of a package of amendments to the Throne
Speech put forth by the Opposition. Given its minority government
status, the Liberals were forced to agree to the amendments,
in order to ensure the Throne Speech passed in the House.
To learn more about the purpose of a Throne Speech and how it
is delivered
Subsequently, Deputy House Leader Mauril Bélanger announced
the federal government is developing plans to hold a series of
hearings across the country, where the public will be invited
to express its views on all aspects of the electoral system.
It remains to be seen what action the government might take as
a result of the hearings, or whether a new electoral system will
be put into place before the next federal election. To a considerable
extent, this will probably depend on how hard the opposition
parties – particularly the NDP – decide to push the
issue. As a smaller party with a national, as opposed to a regional,
base, the NDP is clearly disadvantaged under the current first
past the post electoral system.
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