Student Coalition for Proportional Representation

Canada is run by a Conservative government because we do not use a proportional voting system. Only 39 percent of Canadians voted for the Conservative Party. The minority of voters have elected the majority of seats. 

The party with the most votes in each riding wins. If you vote for NDP or Green Party in a Conservative riding, your vote will essentially be wasted. The FPTP election system is undemocratic because it was designed at a time when there were only two political parties. Because FPTP is favourable to parties of power, even when minority parties and "the people" insist on opening discussions on Proportional Representation, they immediately begin overcomplicating its various forms. 

There are initiatives in Canada that promote the importance of having Proportional Representation. Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is building a nationwide campaign for voting system reform and started the Student and Youth for Fair Voting (SYFV) campaign. This was done in an attempt to bring proportional voting systems to all levels of government. 

Most nations have rid themselves of the winner-take-all system and Canada is still one of the few major nations still using the first-past-the-post voting system (FPTP). The FPTP system does not provide legitimate majority rule, destroying principles of democracy and adding to voter apathy. Initiating a Proportional Representation voting system will mean that all votes will count and not just the ones that won a majority riding. 

Big Parties from Fairvote Canada on Vimeo.

Nations with Proportional Representation typically have a better voter turnout. We can change our voting system if citizens show initiative. “One person, one vote” does not exist in Canada, but it can if we establish a PR voting system. This means that if a party wins 30 percent of votes, 30 percent of the seats in legislature are won. It is a simple solution to our outdated voting system and for a party to win a majority government they would need 50 percent of votes. 

Voter apathy is a serious problem that can be solved if people can see that their vote does actually count. There was a small improvement in voter turnout this past election, approximately 61 percent of Canadians showed up. This still means that 39 percent of Canadians either did not bother or did not know that there was a Federal Election. This apathy affects us all and there is a solution. Your vote can count.  

I would like to propose an Algonquin College PR Action Plan. Would any of our class representatives be interested in getting involved?