Canada may be approaching a unique status among the western democracies. Previously there were three western democracies still using a 19th-century voting model: first past the post wins. Now with some U.S. Congressmen elected through IRV, with U.S. cities and states adopting or flirting with IRV, and even discussing STV, and UK using STV in Ireland and a MMP system in Scotland Parliament elections, Canada has become the only western democracy that is using a 19th-century voting model - first past the post wins - for its federal and provincial elections.*
And our need for PR is even greater than for the other two - we are repeatedly electing minority governments at the federal level. Five of our last seven federal elections have produced minority governments. Nine or ten of the last twenty governments were minority governments.
(see this video showing remarks by Andrew Coyne
https://www.facebook.com/islanders4pr/videos/396974791121813)
And this is doubly ironic because alone of the three, Canada did see the partial use of a district-level PR system in the 1890s and in a larger application from 1917 to 1971. These experiences were successful -- so successful that the powers-that-be stopped them. And now Canada seems to be the slowest to move to it now.
* it is wrong to say we are still clinging to a 19th-century voting model: first past the post wins - because :
- the city of London Ontario used IRV in last election (although not allowed to do so currently)
- Alberta and Manitoba used STV for provincial elections for 30 years
- BC used IRV for two provincial elections in the 1950s
- Ontario used Limited Voting (similar to SNTV) for provincial elections in late 1800s
- 20 Canadian cities and municipalities used STV for all or part of the 1917-1971 period.
====================================
Comments