First past the post
Looking ahead to the New Year there is one thing that Prime Minister Selfie has promised that to me seems problematic. Actually there are a whole bunch of things that may be problematic but this is perhaps the most important. Well, not necessarily the most important because there is the whole refugee thing and the disgraceful shape of our military and of course the economy and the deficit but this is really important. It’s the promise to change the way we elect members of parliament.
Right now we use the system developed in Britain. It’s called “first past the post.” No one seems to be sure where the term comes from but knowing the Brits and their love of horses it probably derives from racing terminology. What is clear is that it has nothing to do with Post Canada since just about everyone including Purolator, UPS and your average Girl Guide are faster.
What this means, however, is that no matter how many people run in a riding the one that gets the most votes wins. Unfortunately, the vote is often split between contenders and that means a candidate can win a seat with as little as 25 or 30 per cent of the ballots cast. When you spread this across the nation it means that a government can win a majority of seats with as little as 37 per cent of the popular vote much as the Conservatives did under Stephen what’s-hisname.
This is of course wrong, as both the Liberals and NDP pointed out, since it meant that Stephen Harper could do all sorts of horrible things without the support of almost two thirds of Canadians. The Liberals , NDP and the Greens all promised electoral reform if they won although they were short on specifics.
Well, as luck would have it Justin Trudeau won a majority of seats with around 37 per cent of the popular vote. No sooner had he picked up his father’s mantel, robe and crown than he announced that this was the last election that would be held under “first past the post” rules. He also announced that his victory was a clear indication that Canadians, at least his 37 per cent, agreed with his intention to make the change and that a committee would be struck to examine the problem and make a recommendation which would then be put before a simple parliamentary vote. No referendum, no messy constitutional amendments, no fuss , no bother.
Possible replacements for the system include “proportional representation” and “weighted ballots.” The first of these is simple. Basically everyone votes for whom they like and if you get 25 per cent of the votes you get 25 per cent of the seats. This would be really nice for the Greens and the NDP who always end up with fewer seats than their vote would indicate. On the down side Canada could end up like Israel with governments composed of six-party coalitions.
As far as weighted ballots are concerned, voters would pick from a list of candidates ranking them in order of preference. The drawback here is that if nobody wins on the first ballot you need a second vote – just what I am sure most Canadians would like.
Anyway, it might all be academic since the Conservatives have vowed to fight tooth and nail and senate for a referendum since the Liberals with only 37 per cent of the popular vote couldn’t possibly understand or represent real Canadian values.