Electoral Reform in Canada

Transcription

1 Electoral Reform in Canada POLI 101: Friday 1 April Lecture outline Canada s s current electoral system - strengths and weaknesses Electoral reform in Canada - federal and provincial reform BC Citizens Assembly Canada s s current electoral system how people vote and how those votes are translated into seats in the legislature SMP: Single Member Plurality one MP is elected in each riding (single member district) the candidate with the most votes wins (plurality) also known as FPP: First Past the Post

2 Assessing electoral systems local representation: do MPs represent a specific geographic area? proportional representation: does the share of seats won by a party match its share of the vote? social representation: do MPs come from a diverse range of social groups? impact on voters impact on parties impact on governments SMP and local representation one MP/MLA elected in each riding voters have an identifiable local representative majority of people in a riding may not have voted for that person party discipline may prevent MP/MLA from pursuing local concerns party caucus may be dominated by representatives from one particular area SMP and proportionality tends to overcompensate largest party e.g BC election, 1987 NB election often produces artificial majorities e.g. 1993, 1997, 2000 federal elections party with most votes may not win election e.g BC election small parties are under-represented represented unless their support is regionally concentrated

3 1993 Federal Election Votes Seats 10 0 Liberals Reform PC BQ NDP SMP and social representation legislature as a microcosm of Canadian society? geographically but not socially women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, young people underrepresented SMP and voters simple and familiar only one vote to express preference for candidate and party - what if they differ? disincentive to vote for small parties wasted votes

4 SMP and parties favours largest party with national support and smaller parties with regionally concentrated support disadvantages smaller parties with support spread thinly across country or province fewer parties in legislature than some countries with more proportional systems SMP and governments tends to produce single party majority governments majority governments seen as more stable and effective other parties have little influence on policy opposition parties may be underrepresented, hard to hold government to account Electoral reform in Canada recommended or being considered in BC, NB, Ontario, PEI, Québec, Yukon NDP policy at federal level recommended at federal level by the Law Commission of Canada

5 Why so popular all of a sudden? concern about democratic deficit electoral reform seen as possible method to increase citizen participation in political system specific experiences in particular provinces e.g. BC 1996 wrong winner,, NB 1987 no opposition international precedents e.g. New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Jenkins Commission in UK Alternative systems for Canada proportional representation systems based entirely on a party list unpopular in Canada due to tradition of local representation more popular are systems that combine some local representation with more proportionality e.g. mixed systems and STV (single transferable vote) Potential impact of reform in Canada on voters: : more choice e.g. separate vote for preferred candidate and party or rank multiple candidates on parties: : likely to be more parties in the legislature e.g. Green Party on governments: : minority and coalition governments more likely, PM less powerful and more consensual politics (Bakvis( Bakvis)

6 BC Citizens Assembly 160 randomly selected citizens from around the province mandate to evaluate current electoral system and if necessary choose reform option 11 month process: studied voting systems, 50 public hearings, 1603 submissions from public, deliberation phase recommended BC-STV, referendum to be held on May Criteria selected by Assembly fair election results: more proportional than current system effective local representation: all MLAs elected by voters in multi-member member ridings greater voter choice: each party stands multiple candidates, voters rank candidates on ballot paper