Proportional representation

A vote for proportional representation in BC’s electoral referendum could boost electoral reform in the provinces or even federally.

I had to watch Prime Minister Trudeau’s epic electoral reform meltdown from a distance over the past couple of weeks given my attendance at an international meeting of progressive policy leaders in South Africa. 

OTTAWA--The Broadbent Institute congratulates members of the electoral reform committee for rolling up their sleeves and finding common ground on something so vital as Canada’s electoral system. This majority report is a road map for the Liberal government to make good on its clear and oft-repeated electoral reform promise. We now call on the Liberals to work with the other parties to design a path forward that finally brings Canadians the modern and effective voting system we deserve.

OTTAWA — Broadbent Institute chair Ed Broadbent will testify at the Special Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE) on Monday, August 29, 2016, in Ottawa.

Principle of proportionality most effective way to increase diversity in politics, say new supporters of Every Voter Counts Alliance

OTTAWA — A voting system based on the principle of proportionality is the most effective way to achieve greater diversity in Canadian politics, say new supporters of the Every Voter Counts Alliance committed to increasing the representation of women and visible minorities in the House of Commons.

Following the announcement of a parliamentary committee to study electoral reform with a special emphasis on gender equity and inclusiveness, a growing number of supporters have come on board the campaign for proportional representation. The government has committed to tabling legislation by next April to scrap Canada’s winner-take-all majoritarian system before the next federal election in 2019.

OTTAWA—The Broadbent Institute cares deeply about renewing Canada’s democracy and we welcome the launch of a special parliamentary committee to study new voting systems.

We know our current first-past-the-post system is broken. It creates false majorities, exacerbates regional divisions and produces legislatures that don’t reflect the diversity of our country. We have a chance to get this right and we must seize the opportunity.

This means making sure every voter counts. The only way to do that – as well as advance the key first principle identified by Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef to underpin the new system – is a proportional system. It’s the only way to ensure that votes are fairly translated into elected results so the system is effective and legitimate.

Editor’s note: Debate on electoral reform loomed large at Progress Summit 2016. Broadbent Institute founder Ed Broadbent told delegates at Canada’s largest annual progressive policy conference that the fight for proportional representation is a fight that progressives can - and must - win.

And Postmedia News columnist Andrew Coyne and Alex Himelfarb, former clerk of the Privy Council, representing the Yes side in the Great Debate: Be it Resolved that Canada Needs Proportional Representation, argued persuasively about how the current winner-take-all system is broken and PR is the only solution to remedy the problems of first-post-the-post.

Below, Broadbent Institute Leadership Fellow Jennifer Hollett shares her perspective.

Ed Broadbent warns 1,000 progressives of dangers of getting electoral reform wrong

OTTAWA — Broadbent Institute founder Ed Broadbent on Friday kicked off the country's flagship progressive policy conference with a call for progressives to make sure the next election is held under a proportional voting system.

Speaking to 1,000 people at the sold out conference, Broadbent called on delegates to seize this “once-in-a-generation opportunity for progressive change, an opportunity to ensure we have a fair voting system in which every voter counts, in which every citizen has a real opportunity to elect a candidate according to his or her values.

OTTAWA — Nine million votes were wasted in the 2015 election under Canada’s winner-take-all electoral system – that’s more than the populations of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces combined, according to a new electoral reform primer outlining why the principle of proportionality must underpin the government’s promise to bring in voting reform by the next federal election.

An electoral system for all: Why Canada should adopt proportional representation, authored by University of British Columbia political scientist David Moscrop, was commissioned by the Broadbent Institute after the newly elected Liberal government promised that the 2015 federal election would be the last one using first-past-the-post.