Zeit für Veränderung: Kanada muss eine Wahlreform annehmen – Nach der Bundestagswahl 2015 gab Trudeau sein Versprechen auf, Kanadas Wahlsystem zu reformieren. Es ist Zeit, ihn zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen.

>*After nearly a decade of “this will be the last time!” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he still hasn’t changed Canada’s electoral system. It’s starting to feel like that friend who promises to bring chips to the party but shows up empty-handed.*

>*In 2015, Trudeau pledged to overhaul Canada’s electoral system, promising that the 2015 election would be the last under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. Nine years later, Canada still uses FPTP, and with another federal election on the horizon, many are questioning why. Canada’s political landscape under FPTP has led to election results where the winning party gains a majority of seats without securing the majority of votes.*

>*Critics increasingly argue that Canada’s FPTP system creates disproportionate representation. In the 2019 and 2021 elections, the Liberal Party secured a minority government with less than 33 per cent of the popular vote. Despite winning more votes overall, the Conservative Party ended up with fewer seats than the Liberals. This created an electoral imbalance that many argue fails to reflect the true will of the people.* 

>*Additionally, FPTP exacerbates regional polarization, as parties tend to dominate specific areas, further entrenching political silos. For example, in the 2021 election, the Conservatives overwhelmingly won seats in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the same year, the Liberals dominated urban ridings in Eastern Canada. The system leaves millions of Canadians feeling disenfranchised. Especially those in so-called “safe” ridings where one party consistently wins, rendering many votes effectively wasted. In turn, this leads to low voter turnout and an unrealistic representation of the views of Canadians.*

>*Public dissatisfaction with the FPTP system has grown since the last election. Opinion polls show increasing support for electoral reform, with 90 per cent of the voters supporting proportional representation (PR) systems. The argument for PR is rooted in its ability to deliver a more fair representation of voter preferences. PR ensures that seats are distributed based on the percentage of votes each party receives. This eliminates the distortions seen under FPTP, where a party like the Liberals can secure a majority of seats with less than a third of the vote. Had Canada used PR in the 2019 and 2021 elections the Conservatives would have won, given they received more votes.* 

>*PR also has the potential to strengthen democracy by offering a more accurate representation of Canada’s diverse political views. Smaller parties, such as the New Democratic Party (NDP), Green Party, and Bloc Québécois, would have a better chance of influencing policy under a proportional system. Voter engagement could also increase, as PR ensures that every vote matters. Countries with PR, like Sweden and Denmark, tend to have a higher voter turnout and better representations of minority interests.*

The sad reality of electoral reform is that both parties will support it up until they get elected, as the only benefit for them to support it is to gain a greater share of votes in the event of a possible election loss. They will 90% of the time then abandon it once they’ve proven they can win government as a system like proportional representation often results in tighter voting margins and seldom results in majority governments.

In reality the CPC and LPC have much more to gain by maintaining the current system as it makes their party perpetually relevant as first past the post systems ALWAYS results in a two-party system, due to how every riding is “winner takes all” and so both politicians and voters are unlikely to back parties that have a greater chance to lose or come in third as they win nothing then (read “Duverger’s Law” for more). This is why (outside of a major party collapse such as with the Progressive Conservatives in the 90’s) the major two parties will be the only parties to ever really win elections sadly

” hey guys, I got a idea for reform. How about for the next election, the party with the least amount of votes wins” trudeau probably.

It’s never going to happen. Neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives are going to go for it. I will also point out that B.C. has had 3 referendums on this, and the last two times, 60 percent of people voted to keep the current voting system in place. Ontario also had a referendum, and so did PEI.

I’m supportive of electoral reform. That said, I don’t think that will be an important issue in 2025. There are simply too many more pressing concerns.

Oh f*** off.

“Now that our side is going to lose decisively and definitively (due to our own actions) we need to change the rules so we have a chance at winning again.”

I don’t like the idea of a party that is in clear decline doing electoral reform. It feels impossible to accomplish without wearing the stink of self-service, just like those back room secret meetings about moving the election date just so MP’s can get a better pension. If we got a majority government that introduced electoral reform even if it came at the cost of their own seat number, I could maybe get on board. Until then, I dont have any faith in whomever would be doing the « reforming ».

Proportionnal. Yes, please and for tomorrow. Ty.

Being held accountable isn’t a strong suit of JT and his LPC.

He was on a podcast where he said it was his biggest regret. Bro still wont do iniate it even though he has power rn. so wierd and frustrating

Sure… Because voting in a Conservative populist who for sure will not change anything electorate wise, is going to somehow help the problem.

Hold him accountable how?

By having another majority government with 40 some percent of the vote?

That’s holding Trudeau accountable?

What!!?!?!

Wouldnt be surprised if you saw a push for this in the coming months.

Holding Trudeau accountable? You’ll have a better chance winning the lottery

I think it’s fair to argue that Canada would benefit from a different electoral system, but I really think you need to argue in favour of a specific system if you ever want things to change. The polls that this article site are all vaguely worded and not indicative of any real desire for change.

This is something people should have noticed about Truedau in 2015 as well. He said it was the last election under FPTP, but did not give any actual alternative. Unsurprisingly he didn’t actually make any changes, when he wasn’t even willing to run on the change that he was supposedly considering making.