Should Canada replace first-past-the-post with a proportional voting system?
In the 2015 election the Liberal Party promised it would be the last federal election under first-past-the-post. This conversation ran from December 2016 to February 2017; on 1 February 2017 the government dropped the promise.
A public Polis conversation on electoral reform in Canada
From a public Polis conversation in Canada, online, December 2016 to February 2017: “Canadian Electoral Reform”. People wrote statements and voted agree, disagree or pass on each other’s. These rows are the statements most voters agreed with, the ones that split voters most evenly, and the ones the fewest agreed with, out of 112 that at least 15 people voted on. Statements about the voters themselves, insults and unchecked factual claims are left out. Passes are not counted.
Polis sorts voters into opinion groups by how they voted across the whole conversation. This one found 2: Group A (16 voters) and Group B (265 voters). These are the statements every group was most likely to agree with, ranked the way Polis ranks common ground: the chance of agreeing in each group, multiplied together. Under them is the statement the groups were furthest apart on.
Schools need to teach more critical thought, so citizens may more closely examine political platforms/arguments & hold officials to account
Group A6 agreed, 0 disagreed (100%)
Group B34 agreed, 1 disagreed (97%)
It’s important to increase voter education.
Group A11 agreed, 1 disagreed (92%)
Group B111 agreed, 2 disagreed (98%)
I think all parties have self-interest biases.
Group A7 agreed, 2 disagreed (78%)
Group B66 agreed, 1 disagreed (99%)
Where they split
Governments are not accountable when most votes cast elect no-one and there are so many "safe" ridings under our current FPTP system
Written for the hearth so this question has a whole card on each side to argue with. No visitor wrote them, so the two parts only a person can fill are empty: what happened to you, and who on the other side called the case against fair.
Yes
Where this card stands
Yes. A party’s share of seats should follow its share of votes, and first-past-the-post often hands majorities to parties most voters didn’t choose.
How sure, before and after the case against
The strongest case against it
Proportional systems usually need coalitions, so voters lose the chance to throw out one party they blame, and local MPs can matter less.
What would change this card’s mind
If countries that switched to proportional systems saw trust in government or turnout fall afterwards.
“Argue with this card” opens the card on the front page with this card’s position as the case against you. You write where you stand and what would change your mind.