As we celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, many Canadians are wondering how they can contribute to creating a gender equal world. Well, a good place to start would be here at home by increasing women’s representation in our nation’s democracy.
Women won 103 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons last federal election, marking the first time women’s representation surpassed 30%. Despite the slight increase since 2019, Canada actually sank from 55th to 59th place in the global ranking of the number of women in national parliaments, placing just below Zimbabwe (30.6%) and miles behind Finland (45.5%), Sweden (46.1%) and New Zealand (49.2%).
That Canada’s global ranking decreased while more women were elected to parliament is a sign our country is lagging when it comes to achieving equal representation for women. Even more so when you consider the 2021 federal election featured the highest percentage of female candidates in our nation’s history. What could be holding us back?
While increasing the number of women running for office might help, the lack of gender parity in parliament points more to a structural issue: that of our voting system, First Past the Post.
In a 2020 report, RepresentWomen analyzed the impact of electoral systems on women’s representation. In the countries that placed in the top 50, 74% used either a proportional representation or mixed system, while only 22% used a winner-take-all system like First Past the Post. Even Australia’s use of the Alternative Vote (winner-take-all ranked ballots) wasn’t enough to lift them into the top 50, with the country only scoring two places above Canada in the global ranking.
So why do countries with PR have higher rates of women’s representation? One of the secrets to their success is the use of multi-member districts which encourage parties to put forward a diversified slate of candidates to reach a wider range of voters. The use of party lists to fill seats in some systems of PR also helps as parties are motivated to create gender-balanced lists from which voters can select candidates. This ensures a level playing field for women competing for seats at the decision-making table.
That the representation of women in Canada’s House of Commons continues to lag behind many of our democratic peers is an embarrassment. It should be abundantly clear that First Past the Post is a barrier to achieving gender parity in parliament and should be replaced with Proportional Representation in order to facilitate true political equality for women in our nation’s democracy.
Send a letter to party leaders calling for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform!
Many of us are deeply alarmed about the current state of Canada’s democracy. Our winner-take-all voting system drives too many politicians to put partisan self-interest first, rewarding political leaders who jack up the inflammatory language.
With MPs from all parties voicing support for Proportional Representation, the time is right for us to convene a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform!
Michelle Rempel Garner makes the Conservative case for PR
“Conservatives have often opposed a more proportional form of representation out of fear that they could not win with it. This may be selling ourselves short. Under a different electoral system, a constellation of parties representing different views on the right-of-centre spectrum might allow us to work in concert on the issues that we broadly agree upon, while definitively agreeing to disagree on the things that we don’t.
That is, instead of spending time figuring out how to get social and progressive conservatives to put water in their respective wine, a change in the electoral system could promote all political parties to take more clear stances on issues and lessen infighting.”
Proportional Representation featured on CBC At Issue Panel on Emergencies Act
Star columnist Chantal Hébert offered some thoughtful comments about how our electoral system counterintuitively encourages division:
“If we had a Parliament that had proportional representation, and if some of those voices—as much as many will dislike them—were represented in the House…it would be healthier to have them in the House than to have them on the outside.”
Out of sight, but not out of mind: Clearing the streets did not clear the democratic roadblock
The occupation of Ottawa caused a fundamental shift in our Canadian self-identity. We are not only vulnerable to a spillover from the democratic chaos and the angry, tribal divisions south of the border, we are cultivating our own—abetted by an electoral system that incentivizes partisanship above all else.
How can a political system that is built for parties to win by dividing people be used to bring us together? Short answer: it can’t.
Were you aware Fair Vote Canada hosts a PR 101 webinar on the 15th of each month?
Join us Tuesday, March 15th at 8pm ET for a half hour presentation on PR, winner-take-all systems and the need for a Citizens’ Assembly!
