The fate of the Conservative Party of Canada is on everyone’s minds this week as ballots from across the country pour in for the long-awaited leadership election. While the assumed coronation of Pierre Poilievre has been the main focus of the race thus far, one aspect that has not received much attention is the format of the ballot itself: in particular, the absence of First Past the Post.
That’s right, the CPC isn’t using Canada’s current electoral system to elect its new leader.
Instead, Conservatives marking their ballots are asked to rank the six leadership candidates in the order of their choice, with their top preference being 1 and their least favourite being 6. In addition, party members are split into 338 ridings with each riding being allocated 100 points which are then divided proportionately among candidates based on their percentage of the vote in that riding.
Sounds a little like Proportional Representation, doesn’t it!
To be more specific, the method of voting the CPC is using is called the Alternative Vote (colloquially known as Ranked Ballots) in which a single winner is chosen when a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the points. If that doesn’t happen on the first round of counting, the candidate with the lowest number of points is eliminated and their points redistributed to the next highest choice on the ballots that had selected them.
This is a marked departure from First Past the Post, which denies voters the opportunity to indicate multiple preferences on their ballot and often elects a representative who the majority oppose. This is why Conservatives are using a multi-round system instead, to ensure they elect a leader with majority support.
So, if Conservatives understand the pitfalls of First Past the Post, why do so many within the party still support its use for general elections?
The simple truth is that while Conservatives don’t trust First Past the Post to elect their leader, they do trust it to elect more Conservatives to parliament. This is because FPTP often causes progressive Canadians to split their votes between the Liberals, Greens and NDP, allowing a Conservative candidate to get elected while only enjoying minority support. This is what happened in Ontario this summer when Doug Ford coasted to a majority government despite only receiving 41% of the vote. Conservatives are also aware that adopting the Alternative Vote for general elections would result in perpetual Liberal majority governments, so that system has historically been off the table.
The CPC has been using ranked ballots for leadership elections since 2004, so Conservatives have enjoyed the benefits of electoral reform internally for about two decades now. It’s time they extend that benefit to the rest of Canada by proposing an alternative to First Past the Post for general elections. If it’s not ranked ballots, then it’s got to be Proportional Representation.
Michael Chong is right: the Prime Minister has too much power
Many Canadians don’t realize the shocking extent to which power has become concentrated in the Prime Minister’s Office.
A 2007 study of 22 OECD countries found that Prime Ministers in Canada held more power than in any other country.
The Paris Citizens’ Assembly: where citizens write the law
Paris has become the first major city in the world to institute a permanent citizens’ assembly and to give it real power.
One hundred randomly selected citizens aged 16 and up―reflecting the Parisian population by age, gender, place of residence and education―will be tasked each year with helping shape city policy.
This means the public will see more of their views and their priorities reflected in government policy.
DemocracyNext virtual launch event
Democracy visionary Claudia Chwalisz, who until recently led the OECD’s democratic innovations group, is launching a new organization called DemocracyNext that aims to make civic lotteries and citizens’ assemblies as indispensable as elections.
Attend their official launch on Thursday, September 15th, the International Day of Democracy.
Democratic Reform in the News
Electoral reform continues to make the news across Canada and around the world. Here is a sample of what is being said:
- Efficient Dictators Suck
- Thanks to bad electoral laws, Detroit will soon have no Black members of Congress
- How long has the UK used first past the post?
Canada ranked #9 in the World Governance Indicators project which looks at over 200 countries on six dimensions of government: voice and accountability, political stability, absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and rule of law.
All the countries with rankings above Canada use proportional representation.
Learn more by clicking here.
