We sometimes associate democracy with the notion of majority rule, but in Canada that’s the exception, not the rule. In this country, a political party doesn’t need more than half the votes cast to win more than half the seats – a majority government – in Parliament or the legislatures. In recent years, minority governments have become more common – some elected without even winning the largest number of votes, let alone a majority. It’s the way the first past the post system works: whoever gets the most votes in a riding wins the seat. The party with the most seats generally gets the government. The recent election result in Quebec nicely illustrates why it may be time to change the system. The Parti Quebecois, which has promised another referendum on separation from Canada, is back in power with only 28 per cent of the votes cast. A party that got almost half as many votes didn’t get a single seat. A clear majority of Quebec voters did not support what is now a minority government committed to sovereignty. Eleven years ago, Justin Trudeau promised the 2015 federal election would be the last to use the first past the post system, to, in his words, “Make sure that Canadians have a stronger voice in Ottawa – a voice that reflects and represents them.” It was one of the first promises he broke as prime minister, a decision he now says he regrets. There are alternatives, various forms of proportional representation and ranked ballots like the system used in Australia. The new prime minister of the United Kingdom, where our parliamentary system was born, has promised to establish a national commission on electoral reform. Prime Minister Mark Carney should do the same. The panel should be mandated to identify one preferred alternative to first past the post, and then Canadians should decide in a binding referendum whether to change the electoral system: yes or no. And in this case, the majority rules.
