The Saturday Debate: It is finally time for electoral reform in Ontario? Low voter turnout has again raised the call for electoral reform. Alex Himelfarb and Lydia Miljan debate whether Ontario needs reform or not.
The Ontario election has renewed a perennial Canadian debate: is our first-past-the-post electoral system fair and effective? Or should we join the majority of democracies and switch to some form of proportional representation ?
Proportional representation is designed to make every vote matter, to ensure that the proportion of seats each party wins matches as closely as possible the proportion of votes they actually received. No more winner takes all. This is far less common in PR countries where cross-party co-operation is the norm. Political scientist Arend Lijphart’s extensive comparison of electoral systems found that on issues such as climate change that require a long view and policy continuity, countries with proportional systems consistently outperform FPTP countries. In fact, he found they outperformed on almost all measures of good governance.
Political scientists have for decades been chronicling the decline in trust in government and faith in democracy. Part of the remedy surely is an electoral system that makes every vote matter, encourages voters to vote for the local candidate they prefer rather than against the one they fear, and yields government chosen by the majority, representative of the country’s diversity and therefore inclined to govern for the common good. That’s PR.
Moreover, electoral systems remain one of many variables that influence voter turnout. Other factors include the age of the voting population, enthusiasm for change and political culture. It’s not clear how changing the electoral system will influence these factors. Incidentally, the Liberals and NDP did better this election in inner city ridings, such as Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston and Ottawa, than in less-populated areas. In contrast, the PCs were competitive throughout the province.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
This is who's in and who's out of Doug Ford's cabinetOntario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled his cabinet for the 43rd Parliament of Ontario.
Read more »
U.S. President Biden signs gun safety bill into law, takes swipe at Supreme CourtU.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a bipartisan gun safety bill into law, the first major federal gun reform in three decades.
Read more »
Bulls & Bears: NBA Draft delivered a ‘Canada Day’ preview with four picksOpinion: The fourth time four or more Canadians drafted into one NBA draft, upping number of Canadians drafted into NBA to 37 since 1989.
Read more »
It’s time for Canada to get serious about defenceWith threats to the left of us in the Indo-Pacific, to the right in Europe, and with Russia to our north, this country must get serious about defence
Read more »
2-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova wins Eastbourne titleTwo-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova tuned up for the Grand Slam tournament by overpowering Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 to win the Eastbourne title on Saturday.
Read more »
Opinion | ‘Fixing’ emergency department wait times starts with investing in a strong primary care systemOpinion: While record-setting wait times, staffing shortages and burnout are daunting, these pressures are an opportunity to push forward needed policy change.
Read more »