What is exactly is a representative democracy? How can we measure the ability of an electoral system to accurately represent the will of the people, and to act in accordance with the wishes of the population? These are complex issues, no doubt, and luckily there are people out there giving it a lot of thought and coming up with a way of ensuring that we are living in a just and truly democratic society.
Fair Vote Canada is a multi-partisan national citizen's campaign promoting fair voting systems for use in elections at all levels. Their purpose is to gain support for a movement to allow Canadians to choose a voting system based on the principles that all voters are equal and that every vote must count. Seems like a standard concept of democracy, no? Many of us assume that our current voting system adheres to these principles, but this is not actually the case in Canada.
Take FVC's revealing quiz and test your knowledge of our democratic system.
Some interesting, and disturbing statistics:
- in 2000, 2.3 million Liberal voters in Ontario elect 100 Liberal MPs, while the other 2.2 million Ontario voters elect only 3 MPs from other parties
- in 2004, more than 500,000 Green voters fail to elect a single MP anywhere, while fewer than 500,000 voters in Atlantic Canada alone elect 22 Liberal MPs
- in the 1990s, Canada ranked 109th among 163 nations in voter turnout
And is our low turnout any wonder given the other statistics? I was raised to vote religiously in every election - municipal, provincial, and federal, and I continue to do so. But as I grow older, more informed, and less idealistic, I have come to believe that my vote truly does not count. And with each ballot cast, and ultimately swallowed into the abyss of second or third "past-the-post" meaninglessness, I feel less and less like a citizen living in a democracy.
As I explored the work and publications of Fair Vote Canada with a newly discovered spirit of civil discontent, I am certainly inspired and relieved that there is a well-organized and powerfully backed organization working to change things. Now the burden is on us, the electorate, to get on board and come together to support these crucial objectives:
- proportional representation
- fair representation for women, and for minorities and Aboriginals
- accountable government
- geographic representation
- real voter choice
Take a moment to learn more about Fair Vote Canada, and if these issues are important to you, find out what you can do to help make a change.
Also, check out this video featuring Don Ferguson of the Royal Canadian Air Farce.
