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Most voting systems based on the principle of proportional representation meet these objectives. FVC is calling for a national education process through which Canadians can learn about more proportional voting systems and then choose the best system through a referendum process. Our call for a national referendum has been endorsed by more than 100 political scientists from 34 Canadian universities. FVC is also endorsed by a wide and diverse range of national organizations, such as the Canadian Federation of Students, Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Canadian Labour Congress.
Why Does Canada Need a New Voting System? Because ours does the following:
•Denies representation for all voters.
Winner-take-all voting systems provide representation only for those voters who support the most popular party in their riding. The political views of other voters are not represented. In many cases, the winning candidate does not even receive a majority of votes cast.
•Distorts the will of the voters
Because many voters, often the majority, do not elect an MP, overall election results are distorted. A party winning only 40% of the vote may gain 60% or more of the seats and 100% of the power. A party winning 30% of the vote could find itself with only 10% of the seats. Smaller parties that attract 5% or 10% of the vote will almost never be represented.
•Produces phony majority governments.
Because of these distortions, Canada is generally ruled by phony majority governments – i.e., by parties that captured a majority of seats without winning a majority of the popular vote. In fact, Canada has had only four legitimate majority governments – elected by a majority of voters – since World War I.
The current government won 57% of the seats with less than 42% of the vote.
•Fails to produce accountable governments
Governments that win with less than majority support nonetheless claim a “mandate from the people”. Governments can also be easily formed by parties with little or no representation from entire regions of the country.
Help change the voting system so everyone's voice is heard. |
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Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is a citizens’ campaign for voting system reform. FVC is bringing together Canadians from all regions, all walks of life, all points on the political spectrum, and supporters of all parties, to demand a new voting system for Canada.
www.fairvotecanada.org |
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