Electoral Systems
An Analysis of Electoral Systems
in Canada and Around the World
Topics for Discussion
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History of the Vote in
Canada
Elections in Canada:
Do we need Reform?
Elections in other
Countries
Majority/Minority
Governments
Electoral Systems
Electoral Reform
Stephen Harper during an
Election Campaign
Key terms you should know
Constituency: a body of voters represented by an elected legislator or official
Franchise: The right to vote
Majority Government: a government formed by a political party that wins more than
half the seats in a parliament or legislature.
Minority Government: a government that is elected with fewer than half the seats in a
parliament or legislature.
First Past the Post (FPTP): An electoral system in which the candidate with the most
votes wins, even if he or she receives less than 50% of the total votes; sometimes
called “simple majority”
Proportional Representation (PR): An electoral system in which the number of seats
each political party wins is in proportion to its share of the total vote.
Hybrid System: A fusion of the FPTP and PR systems. It was designed to address the
problems inherent in both the FPTP and PR systems.
Preferential Ballot: An electoral system whereby voters rank their choices rather than
vote for a single candidate. To win an election, a candidate must win 50% + 1 of
the vote
The History of the Vote in Canada
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When the first
election in Canada
was held, only 11
percent of the
population was
eligible to vote.
Today,
approximately 68%
of Canada’s
population can vote.
Who could Vote?
The Right to Vote for Women in
Canadian Provincial Elections
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Due to the efforts of Nellie
McClung, Manitoba was the first
province to Grant women the right
to vote. Other provinces would
soon follow:
1916: Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta.
1917: British Columbia and Ontario
1918: Nova Scotia
1919: New Brunswick
1922: Prince Edward Island
1925: Newfoundland
1940: Quebec
Nellie McClung
Timeline of the History of the Vote
for Federal Elections in Canada
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In 1874 voting booths were
created to maintain voting
secrecy
In 1918, women gained the
right to vote at the Federal level
In 1919, women obtained the
right to run as candidates in
federal elections.
In 1920, a Chief Electoral
Officer of Canada was hired to
oversee the administration of
federal elections across Canada
(to stop corruption)
In 1921, Agnes Macphail
became the first woman elected
to the House of Commons in
Agnes MacPhail: Canada’s first
Female Member of Parliament!
Timeline of the History of the Vote
for Federal Elections in Canada
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In 1950, Inuit people
obtained the right to vote
and the right to run as
candidates in federal
elections
In 1955, the last vestiges of
religious discrimination were
removed from federal
electoral law
In 1960, First Nations people
living on reserves were
granted the right to vote and
the right to run as
candidates in federal
elections without having to
give up their status under
the Indian Act
In 1970, the voting age was
lowered from 21 to 18
Timeline of the History of the Vote
for Federal Elections in Canada
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In 1982, the right to
vote and the right to
be a candidate in an
election were
enshrined in the
Constitution with the
adoption of the
Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms
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In 1992, the Elections
Act was amended to
ensure access to the
vote for people with
disabilities (e.g.
interpreting services,
wheelchair access,
technology to assist
hard of hearing and
the visually impaired)
Sample accommodations for
Visually Impaired Voters
Timeline of the History of the Vote
for Federal Elections in Canada
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In 1993, Federally
appointed judges,
persons with mental
disabilities and
persons serving prison
terms of less than two
years obtained the
right to vote; the
special ballot (mail-in
ballot) was made
available to all
electors
In 2002, following a
ruling by the Supreme
Court of Canada,
voting rights were
extended to all
inmates
Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
Do we need Electoral Reform in
Canada?
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Are the voting decisions
of Canadians being
represented in House of
Commons?
Do we need Change?
If 10% of Canadians
vote for the Green Party,
should they be entitled
to 10% of the seats in
the House of Commons?
The 2006 Federal Election Results
Political Party
Pop. Vote (%)
# of Seats
Conservatives
36.27
124
Liberals
30.23
103
Bloc Quebecois
10.48
51
NDP
17.48
29
Green Party
4.48
0
Independents
.55
1
Do you notice anything strange about these results?
Do we need Electoral Reform in
Canada? Some Issues:
#1
Unfairness with
respect to
Representation:
 Voters who choose to
support one of the
smaller parties are not
having their voices
represented in the
government. The
Green Party receives
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May
Three University of Ottawa Students make their point
Do we need Electoral Reform in
Canada? Some Issues:
#2
Voter turnout
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In Canada, it has
been declining since
the 1988 Federal
Election.
Many Canadians feel
that their vote cannot
bring change so “why
bother?”
In 2004, the turnout
was the lowest since
1898!
Steady declines in Voter turnout: Why?
Do we need Electoral Reform in
Canada? Some Issues:
#3
Strange Election Results
In 1998, the Parti Quebecois
(PQ) won the Quebec
Provincial Election with a
majority government.
However, PQ leader felt
somewhat ambivalent about
the election results since the
majority of Quebeckers didn’t
vote for him; they voted for
Liberal Leader Jean Charest!
How is this possible? Why
didn’t Charest win?
Lucien Bouchard
Jean Charest
The 1998 Quebec Provincial
Election
Political Party
% of Pop Vote
# of Seats
Parti Quebecois
42.87
76
Liberals
43.55
48
ADQ
11.81
1
The 1998 Quebec Provincial
Election
How did Quebec produce such a strange political outcome?
Do we need Electoral Reform in
Canada? Some Issues:
#4
Lack of an Effective
Opposition
In the 1987 Provincial
Election in New Brunswick,
the Liberal Party under the
leadership of Premier Frank
McKenna won all 58 seats in
the NB Legislature! As a
result, the government had
no opposition!
Frank McKenna
Do we need Reform? Some
Electoral Systems to Consider
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First Past the Post
(FPTP)
Proportional
Representation (PR)
Hybrid System
(FPTP/PR)
Preferential Ballot
System
First Past the Post (FPTP)
First Past the Post (FPTP):
 The electoral system
currently used in Canadian
elections
 The candidate with the
most number of votes in
their riding wins a seat in
parliament
 The Political Party that wins
the most number of seats
wins the election and forms
the government.
The Candidate who crosses the
Finish line wins the election!
Positive Aspects of FPTP
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Tends to produce Majority
governments. As a result, it
creates political stability.
The system is simple. The
candidate with the most votes
(first passes the post) wins!
Prevents extremist groups
from gaining a voice inside
the legislatures (e.g. a NeoNazi Party with .3% of
popular vote will not get any
seats in the House of
Commons!)
Georgetown MP Michael Chong:
He passed the post first!
Negative Aspects of FPTP
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Candidates can win elections without a
clear mandate. If you have 10 Candidates,
you could hypothetically win an election
with 11% of the vote (you passed the post
first!).
Majority governments are created without a
clear mandate. In recent Canadian
elections, governments have received solid
majority governments with less than 35%
of the popular vote. Is this democracy?
Smaller parties do not have a voice.
Smaller parties who cannot pass the post
first are completely shut out of the political
system since they cannot gain
representation in the parliament.
Voters may want to vote for a smaller
party, but will decline because they might
feel that it is a “wasted vote”
He likes it!
She doesn’t!
Proportional Representation
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This system is widely used in Europe in
countries such as Denmark, Sweden,
Finland and Holland
A Proportional Representation (PR)
System allocates seats in the
parliament based on a political party’s
share of the popular vote. If your
party receives 10% of the votes, you
receive 10% of the seats.
Smaller political parties such as the
Green Party and the NDP have been
lobbying for a PR system for years!
Voters vote for the political parties; not
the local representatives. In an
election, the MPs are selected by the
political parties from party lists.
Smaller parties such as the Green
Party would not need to have 308 local
representatives across Canada in an
election. If you voted for the Green
Party in Georgetown, you voted for the
party and that’s it. There is not a local
representative.
Sounds Great!
Positive Aspects of PR
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The voting decisions of the
electorate is represented in
the parliament (e.g. 4.5%
vote for the Green Party so
they get 4.5% of the seats in
the House of Commons.)
There is a wider selection of
political parties (political
spectrum) represented in our
political institutions. An
overall increase in political
diversity.
We are the World
Negative Aspects of PR
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With so many parties
represented in our political
institutions, it is very difficult
for parliament to function.
Encourages political infighting
Tends to create minority
governments. Elections need
to be held on a yearly basis
since minority governments
can easily fall. This creates
political instability.
Allows for extremist groups to
gain access to our respected
political institutions (e.g. if a
neo-Nazi party gets .5% of
vote they get .5% of the seats
in parliament).
A brawl breaks out in Taiwan’s
Legislature: Instability!
Extremism
Negative Aspects of PR
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A lack of local representation.
Members of the House of
Commons would be selected by
the Political Parties themselves.
You only vote for the party; not
the local representative. Areas
like Georgetown would not have
local representation. Parties
would not necessarily
understand our issues if there is
no local representative to speak
for us.
Lack of accountability. MPs are
selected by the party. Local
citizens do not have a say in
who gets to represent them.
You wouldn’t get him.
You’d get this Guy
(I don’t know him either)
The Hybrid System
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This system is used in New
Zealand, Germany and Italy.
The Hybrid System: A fusion of
the FPTP and PR systems. This
system is commonly referred to
as a Mixed Member
Proportional (MPP) system.
Both British Columbia and
Prince Edward Island proposed
to adopt this electoral system
in 2004. It was rejected in
2005
Ontario held a referendum on
the MPP system during the Oct
2007 Provincial election. It
was also rejected. According
to Ontario NDP leader, Howard
Hampton, “MPP didn’t have a
chance of passing”.
Why Not? For more info click
here:
The German Legislature
Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton
isn’t happy!
Positive and Negative Aspects
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Incorporates the Positive
and Negative aspects of the
FPTP and PR systems.
However, it also
incorporates the negative
components of both
systems too: un-democratic
elements of FPTP and
instability of the PR system
Electoral System can be
confusing since you are
voting for both the party
and the local representative.
Electoral System can be
time consuming and
expensive.
Still allows for extremist
voices to gain access to
political institutions
Yes? No?
Ontario Said “NO”
Preferential Ballot
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With this electoral system, voters rank in
order of preference for who they wish to
represent them.
For example, you rank 1-5 your order of
preference. If a candidate has 50% of
the first choice votes, they win the
election. If not, they count the second
choice ballots too and keep counting
until the candidate wins 50% of the
total vote.
This system is used in Australia
You rank your Candidates when
You vote. What do you think?
They both like the system
Positive and Negative Aspects
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Members of Parliament would
need to receive 50% of the
popular vote to win an election.
The voter’s decisions would be
reflected in election outcomes.
However, the system is timeconsuming, expensive and a
little confusing.
Voters need to be educated
about their second, third and
fourth choices for the system to
function as originally intended.
A Preferential Ballot
Future Directions
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Do you like our
current system, or
do you think that it
needs to be
changed? If so,
which electoral
system should be
used? Discuss