Canada’s newest federal party launched last month and placed proportional representation as the second-highest priority within their Interim Policy Framework. The Canadian Future Party advocates for “a reformed electoral system with directly elected MPs and proportionally elected MPs across all provinces and territories” and “public participation in policy-making as a structured part of the legislative process.” These policies show consensus on the issue of proportional representation is growing across the political spectrum in Canada.
The Canadian Future Party was born out of a rift within the Conservative Party when numerous members grew uncomfortable with the ideological shifts within their party during the 2022 leadership election. The CFP began as an internal pressure group within the CPC (first dubbing themselves the Centre Ice Conservatives before rebranding to Centre Ice Canadians) and left the party when Pierre Poilievre was elected leader of the CPC. The party’s interim leader, Dominic Cardy, criticised Poilievre as promoting “extremism and division” and “riding on the coattails of the MAGA movement,” and described Canada’s electoral system more broadly as having “moved away from moderation and civility.”
This rift highlights a pervasive problem in Canadian politics: inside the parties themselves, democracy is not often valued as an important aspect of decision-making. Most parties have mechanisms for members to vote in leadership races and on very select policy issues, but significant decisions are frequently made by an elite group of senior leaders with no democratic input from MPs, party members, or the general public. A stunning example of this is apparent in Canada’s approach to national prescription drug coverage. A poll by Environics Research found that 91% of Canadians either supported (38.5%) or strongly supported (52.9%) the following statement:
“As you know, our public health care system does not currently include coverage for the costs of prescription drugs. Some people say Canada should implement a national ‘pharmacare’ program that would provide universal access to prescription drugs to all Canadians.”
In a functional democracy, one might expect that a policy with such a massive consensus amongst the electorate should be a straightforward choice (or mandate) for parliamentarians of all parties to enact, and yet this has not occurred in our first-past-the-post system.
It is encouraging to see that the faults of first-past-the-post are becoming apparent to more people and politicians on the political right, who have historically been the least supportive of the move to proportional representation in Canada. In February of this year, Parliament voted on Motion M-86 for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform and, in addition to 40 Liberals and all NDP, Green, and Bloc members, only three Conservative MPs voted yes. It is important to note the overall percentage of Canadians who support a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is 76% with 69% of Conservative voters in favour, which means all but three Conservative MPs voted against the will of a large majority of their own constituents on this motion. Most Liberal MPs did the same, with only 26% voting yes on a motion that 73% of the party’s voters supported.
Regardless of one’s opinions on the Canadian Future Party’s politics, the circumstances of its inception clearly show that Canada has a democracy problem. Under first-past-the-post, politicians are not required to represent the desires of their constituents, and party leaders’ priorities are often at odds with the positions of their own MPs. The solution to our democratic malaise is simple: proportional representation would greatly improve democratic accountability within our political institutions and allow Canadians of all political stripes to participate freely and with pride in our country’s vibrant democracy.
First-past-the-post to blame as BC moves closer to a two-party system
In the blink of an eye, BC United leader Kevin Falcon and BC Conservative leader John Rustad have wiped out voter choice, and forced BC back to a two-party system. The reason for this high-stakes shotgun marriage between BC United (formerly the BC Liberals) and the BC Conservatives is both transparent and compelling: parties and voters to the right of the BC NDP know they can’t win if they split the vote.
Introducing the New Chair of Fair Vote Toronto

We’re excited to announce Chris Holdenried as the new Chair of Fair Vote Toronto!
Chris has lived in Toronto since 2005 after moving here from his hometown of Calgary, Alberta. He became aware of Fair Vote Canada in 2021 and has been interested in proportional representation ever since. He has been with the Toronto Action Team for over a year, and has been involved in everything from our summer convention events, volunteer hangouts, M86 Campaign and the annual Pride Street Fair!
Chris looks forward to continuing to grow the movement in Toronto and thanks retiring Chair, Marc Gasparotto, for his hard work and dedication to FVT over the last three years.
Democratic Reform in the News
Check out the latest on democracy and electoral reform from news sources in Canada and around the world:
- Time to admit our electoral system is finished (UK)
- Why our only hope in hell is proportional representation
- How To Get The Most Out Of Multi-Winner #rankedchoicevoting
Did You Know?
Fair Vote Toronto volunteers were recently at ETFO’s Annual Meeting where over 100 people signed our Declaration of Voters Rights in support of proportional representation. Lots of good conversations were had and ONDP leader Marit Styles even stopped by our booth to show her support for PR!