The document discusses issues with Canada's current first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP) including that it can result in distorted results, wasted votes, and governments being formed without obtaining a majority of the popular vote. It provides examples from past Canadian elections to illustrate these issues. The document also discusses proportional representation systems and notes that many other modern democracies have adopted proportional representation instead of using antiquated FPTP systems like Canada's.

1. Government The Electoral System
and Politics

2. True or False
1. Every vote is equal – it doesn’t matter who you
support or where you live
False – Number of votes required to elect a
member can be different for different parties and
regions

3. True or False
2. Election results are fair – what voters say at the
ballot box is the government we get
False – We often get distorted results because of
First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)

4. True or False
3. A party must win a majority of votes to form a
majority government
False – Majority governments rarely get a
majority of the popular vote

5. True or False
4. The Government is always formed by the party
that wins the most votes
False – NDP in BC, PQ in Quebec

6. True or False
5. Voters who oppose the government are always
represented in Parliament by one or more
opposition parties
False – Liberals in New Brunswick won every seat
with 60% of the vote

7. True or False
6. Canada has more women in Parliament than
either Turkmenistan, Laos, or Eritrea
False – All of these countries have more women
in Parliament than Canada

8. True or False
7. Canada ranked 108th in voter turnout in the
1990s
False – Canada ranked 109th

9. True or False
8. Most older European nations use antiquated 12th
century voting systems, while Canada uses a
modern 20th century voting system
False – Most European countries use 20th century
voting systems. Canada uses a system developed
in the 12th century

10. FPTP
• Single Member Plurality – Winner take all, First
Past the Post (FPTP)
• Within a riding, the candidate
with the most votes wins
the riding or seat
• Party with the most seats forms the government

11. FPTP
What is a majority government in Canada?
• Government is formed by the party with a
majority (50%+) of the seats in the House of
Commons
Do they receive the majority of the popular vote?
• Very rarely

12. FPTP
60
Example: 1 riding, 2
candidates 55
• Candidate with most 50
votes win
45
• Winner will always
have majority of the 40
vote % of Vote
Candidate 1
Candidate 2

13. FPTP
Example: 1 riding,
multiple candidates
• Winner just needs
the most votes, not
majority of votes
• Winner rarely gets
majority of the votes Candidate 1 Candidate 2
Candidate 3 Candidate 4
Candidate 5

14. Problems with FPTP
• Candidates are elected with less than a majority
• Rarely results in true majority – phony majorities
• More votes for the losers than winners
• Wasted votes – 6 million in an average federal
election
• Fewer women elected – 20.6%

15. Problems with FPTP
• Distorted results, favours large parties
• Regional disparities – a regional party, like the
Bloc Quebecois can do very well with a relatively
small vote
• Promotes strategic voting
• Lower voter turnout

16. Distorted Results
• 580,000 people voted for the Green Party and
elected 0 members, Less than 500,000 people
voted Liberal in the Maritimes and elected 22
members
• In 2000 in Ontario 2.3 million votes for Liberals
elected 100 members, 2.2 million votes for other
parties elected only 3 members
• In 1993, the Bloc forms the official opposition but
is actually fourth in popular vote

17. 2006 Election Results
Average votes per party needed to gain a
seat in the 2004 federal election:
Bloc Quebecois 30,966
Liberals 36,675
Conservatives 40,350
NDP 111,397
Green Party 0 = 580,816

18. Proportional Representation
• A voting system that results in parties receiving
number of seats in proportion with the popular
vote they receive – every vote counts
• A party receiving 40% of the vote will receive
40% of the seats

19. Concerns about PR
• Unstable government
• Small parties will rule
• Proliferation of small parties
• Confusing

20. 2006 Results - PR Style
Party Popular Vote FPTP Seats PR Seats
Conservatives 36.3% 124 113
Liberals 30.1% 103 93
NDP 17.5% 29 59
Bloc Quebecois 10.5% 51 31
Green Party 4.5% 0 12

21. PR in BC
• In the 1996 provincial election, the NDP won a majority
with less popular vote than the Liberals (39% vs 42%)
• Gordon Campbell (Liberal) elected in 2001 committed
to reviewing voting system
• Citizen’s assembly formed in 2004, reviewed voting
systems and rejected FPTP
• Referendum on May 17, 2005 – 57.5% voted for change

22. Who else is using PR?
• 80+ countries
• Canada is one of the few countries with a
modern democratic system still using FPTP
• Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
Greece, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland,
Serbia, Sweden, Scotland, Norway, Australia,
Wales…