Proportional representation: making every vote count

Nick Loenen pulls no punches.

“Politically, Canada is living a lie,” argues the Richmond, B.C. resident. “We think we are democratic, but we are not. On almost every election night, the majority of voters get neither the local representative nor the government they voted for. How democratic is that?”

What rankles Loenen, a former Social Credit MLA, is Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system. With several candidates in a typical riding, a candidate – and a party – can win with much less than majority of the vote. Only 38% of voters chose the Liberals in the 1997 federal election. Meanwhile small parties are shut out altogether.

Could it be any different? Most definitely. Our ailing political system can be revived with proportional representation, ensuring that at least some seats in Parliament and our legislatures would be allocated on the basis of popular vote. Many support a system whereby half the representatives would be elected from single-member seats, as is now the case, while the other half would reflect PR. That would balance the benefits of local representation with a system in which every vote counts.

A wide range of individuals and organizations support PR, including CPJ. “If I could make one change to Canadian political institutions, it would be to reform the electoral system to bring in proportional representation,” says CPJ supporter Harold Jansen, a political scientist at the University of Lethbridge.

“This would ensure that all parties are treated equitably. Currently, parties that have regionally concentrated support are rewarded by our current electoral system, while parties with a more national appeal tend to be discriminated against.”

Another benefit, notes Jansen, is that proportional representation would likely lead to more principled parties with distinct stands on issues. Now a candidate usually needs about 40% of the vote to win, and the easiest way to win that support is by appealing to the mushy ideological centre. A platform appealing to only 15% of the voters likely means winning no seats. But under PR, it would receive some seats. “Christian people in particular should favour PR because of that,” adds Nick Loenen. “Now parties are election machines. Your suppress your principles and platform in favour of images.”

Nor is PR unknown to Canada. Manitoba used it from 1920 to 1953, and Alberta from 1926 to 1955.

Meanwhile, it has the best chance of success in British Columbia, with its highly unpopular NDP government, elected by only 38% of the vote. “People look at this and say, why are these people in power?”, says Loenen. B.C.’s Liberal Party, widely expected to win the next provincial election, has promised to hold a referendum on PR. The idea is being pushed by a group Loenen helped found, Fair Voting BC, and the Electoral Change Coalition.

Some are concerned that a PR system will lead to instability. Yet most mature democracies have PR, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In her book Imagine Democracy, journalist and PR supporter Judy Rebick calls our electoral system “an anachronism... discarded by almost every democracy in the world except Britain, Canada, and the United States.”

In May New Democrat MP Lorne Nystrom introduced a motion in the Commons urging a national discussion on PR, followed by a referendum on its introduction to the federal electoral system.

“At a time when the public is increasingly cynical about politicians and about the value of their vote, the current system only makes matters worse” said Nystrom. “Introducing a measure of proportional representation into our electoral system will empower Canadian citizens.”

The NDP has good reason to champion PR. In the last election, both the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois won 11% of the vote, but the BQ ended up with more than double the number of NDP seats.

Nystrom’s motion was supported by all parties, except the Liberals. In the fall it will come up again for debate before a vote is taken on it. Meanwhile the NDP is trying to drum up support.

Proportional representation may prove to be a noble yet unattainable ideal. That would be unfortunate indeed. Noting that voter turnout plummeted to only 67% in the last federal election, Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hébert recently observed: “Too many Canadians have come to think their vote counts for nothing - and that’s not good for the country.”

From the Catalyst, Volume 23, #5, August/September 2000