Democratic Renewal

Issue 2, March 2004

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Policy Brief

"Electoral Reform 101"

Of the six experiments in democratic reform currently being conducted in Canada (by the Federal government, BC, Ontario, Quebec, PEI and New Brunswick) five of them are focused on or contain a major element having to do with electoral reform. Only the federal Government has so far shied away from changing the voting system, though here too one sees the stirring of interest.

At the end of February, the Canadian Study of Parliament Group organized its winter 2004 Conference on "Electoral Reform and its Parliamentary Consequences." As the organizers noted happily, the railway committee room was filled to capacity, another indicator of the growing Canadian interest in democratic renewal. Excellent presentations were made by some of Canada's leading scholars.

Among the key points that emerged from the presentations and discussions, we would highlight the following.

1. The devil is in the details. According to Andre Blais of the University of Montreal, there are at least 100 options when it comes to reforming the electoral system. Permutations and combinations quickly multiply around three dimensions of elections: first, the constituency structure; second, the ballot and voting system and third, the electoral formula. He warns that each of these deserves to be considered carefully in light of what electoral reform is meant to accomplish. Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that there are trade offs between different electoral goals - for example fairness and simplicity. In short, designing an electoral system is both a technical and a political process, which explains why the various provincial initiatives all entail considerable study and public consultation.
   
   
2. The pros and cons of PR. All of the provincial initiatives are considering introducing some degree of proportional representation into the Canadian electoral system. None are proposing to abandon the first past the post constituency based system entirely because Canadians want to be able to vote for their local MP. However they want something else as well, namely greater fairness in representation. The consequences of PR for the parliamentary system can be both positive and negative, depending on your point of view. On the positive side is the likelihood of increased political diversity in the House of Commons and - when minority or coalition governments result - less centralized government because the PM has to negotiate with other parties in parliament. On the negative side, PR may contribute to less stable government and it may be harder for voters to hold a coalition government to account.
   
   
3. Electoral reform is not a cure all for the democratic deficit. One of the drivers for democratic renewal in Canada is the declining participation rate among voters, particular young voters. At the present time only one in four eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 25 will actually vote. It turns out that electoral reform may help only a bit with this problem. Studies worldwide show that on average 5 percent more people vote in PR than in first past the post systems but there has been a steady decline in voting rates in all systems, with PR declining at about the same rate as other systems.