Electoral reform in Canada
Encyclopedia
There are numerous efforts underway for electoral reform in Canada at federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels. At present the most active are provincial. As of early 2006, two electoral reform referendums have been held:
In this referendum 57.7% of British Columbians (just short of the 60% necessary) voted in favour of the Single Transferable Voting system, while 43% voted against it. This left the Liberal
government of BC open to the possibility of adopting the system due to the large mandate it received from voters. Both of BC's major opposition parties—the New Democratic Party
and the Green Party
-- support electoral reform.
Another referendum
on the same issue is scheduled for May 12, 2009, since the 2005 referendum failed by such a small margin. Some voters were concerned about uncertainty as to the size of the electoral districts under BC-STV and hence the degree of proportionality of the new system. The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission will hold hearings in 2006-7 and make recommendations for new boundaries under both the current single member plurality (SMP) electoral system and the BC single transferable vote (BC-STV) system.
Both referenda failed by clear margins.
One more referendum is tentatively scheduled, but not yet officially called:
As well, the Liberal government of Quebec proposed electoral reform in 2004, which was scheduled to be passed in the fall of 2006 without a referendum. The project was postponed due to divergent views on how to improve it. The province's Chief Electoral Officer was asked on December 21, 2006, to analyze eight characteristics of a possible compensatory mixed member voting system and to submit his opinion to the government, in order to determine the effects of the possible changes that would result from such a system. He submitted his 410 page report exactly one year later, December 21, 2007.
Active advocates of such reforms include Fair Vote Canada
, the federal New Democratic Party
(NDP), Green Party of Ontario
, New Brunswick NDP, New Brunswick's former Conservative Premier Bernard Lord
, Prince Edward Island NDP and Green Party of Canada
, all of which have strongly supported the above referendums. The Communist Party of Canada
also supports various forms of electoral reform.
The federal government of Canada launched a parliamentary committee to investigate and research possible variants of electoral reform, which reported in June, 2005. The New Democratic Party
has expressed a strong preference for the Mixed Member Proportional system but advocates a Canada-wide Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform like those of BC and Ontario. The Conservative Party of Canada
said a Conservative Government would consider changes to electoral systems, including proportional representation, but will not endorse any new electoral system that will weaken the link between Members of Parliament and their constituents, that will create unmanageably large ridings, or that will strengthen the control of the party machinery over individual Members of Parliament, and a national referendum will be held prior to implementing any electoral reform proposal. The Liberal Party of Canada
has taken no position.
- The British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2005British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2005A referendum was held in the Canadian province of British Columbia on May 17, 2005 to determine whether or not to adopt the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform...
to approve a single transferable voteSingle transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
variant BC-STVBC-STVBC-STV is a proposed voting system recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform for use in British Columbia, and belongs to the Single Transferable Vote family of voting systems. BC-STV was supported by a majority of the voters in a referendum held in 2005 but the government had...
.
In this referendum 57.7% of British Columbians (just short of the 60% necessary) voted in favour of the Single Transferable Voting system, while 43% voted against it. This left the Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
government of BC open to the possibility of adopting the system due to the large mandate it received from voters. Both of BC's major opposition parties—the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party of British Columbia
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia is a social-democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the official opposition to the governing British Columbia Liberal Party following the 2009 provincial election in British Columbia.The BC NDP is the provincial...
and the Green Party
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
-- support electoral reform.
Another referendum
British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2009
A second referendum on electoral reform was held in conjunction with the provincial election on May 12, 2009. The BC-single transferrable vote electoral system was again voted on by the BC electorate. It would have required 60 per cent overall approval and 50 per cent approval in at least 60 per...
on the same issue is scheduled for May 12, 2009, since the 2005 referendum failed by such a small margin. Some voters were concerned about uncertainty as to the size of the electoral districts under BC-STV and hence the degree of proportionality of the new system. The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission will hold hearings in 2006-7 and make recommendations for new boundaries under both the current single member plurality (SMP) electoral system and the BC single transferable vote (BC-STV) system.
- Prince Edward Island electoral reform referendum, 2005Prince Edward Island electoral reform referendum, 2005A referendum was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on November 28, 2005 to determine whether or not to adopt the Mixed Member Proportional Representation System as presented by the Commission on Prince Edward Island's Electoral Future.-Results:...
to approve mixed member proportional representationMixed member proportional representationMixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
or some variant. - Ontario electoral reform referendum, 2007Ontario electoral reform referendum, 2007An Ontario electoral reform referendum was held on October 10, 2007, in an attempt to establish a mixed member proportional representation system for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...
, to approve a proposed mixed member proportional representationMixed member proportional representationMixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
system.
Both referenda failed by clear margins.
One more referendum is tentatively scheduled, but not yet officially called:
- New Brunswick electoral reform referendum, 2008New Brunswick electoral reform referendum, 2008A referendum on electoral reform was supposed to be held in the province of New Brunswick, Canada on May 12, 2008. The date was announced by Premier Bernard Lord on June 20, 2006 in announcing his response to the 2004 report of the Commission on Legislative Democracy...
As well, the Liberal government of Quebec proposed electoral reform in 2004, which was scheduled to be passed in the fall of 2006 without a referendum. The project was postponed due to divergent views on how to improve it. The province's Chief Electoral Officer was asked on December 21, 2006, to analyze eight characteristics of a possible compensatory mixed member voting system and to submit his opinion to the government, in order to determine the effects of the possible changes that would result from such a system. He submitted his 410 page report exactly one year later, December 21, 2007.
Active advocates of such reforms include Fair Vote Canada
Fair Vote Canada
Fair Vote Canada is a nonprofit, multi-partisan advocacy group for electoral reform in Canada. It is active both federally and in those provinces where there are efforts to reform the first-past-the-post electoral system that is used in Canada...
, the federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP), Green Party of Ontario
Green Party of Ontario
The Green Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. It has never held any seats in the Ontario Legislative Assembly; however, the party did see significant gains in the 2007 provincial election, earning 8% of the popular vote with some candidates...
, New Brunswick NDP, New Brunswick's former Conservative Premier Bernard Lord
Bernard Lord
Bernard Lord, ONB, QC, is a Canadian politician and lobbyist. Lord served as the 30th Premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
, Prince Edward Island NDP and Green Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
, all of which have strongly supported the above referendums. The Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
also supports various forms of electoral reform.
The federal government of Canada launched a parliamentary committee to investigate and research possible variants of electoral reform, which reported in June, 2005. The New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
has expressed a strong preference for the Mixed Member Proportional system but advocates a Canada-wide Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform like those of BC and Ontario. The Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
said a Conservative Government would consider changes to electoral systems, including proportional representation, but will not endorse any new electoral system that will weaken the link between Members of Parliament and their constituents, that will create unmanageably large ridings, or that will strengthen the control of the party machinery over individual Members of Parliament, and a national referendum will be held prior to implementing any electoral reform proposal. The Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
has taken no position.