An Introduction to Proportional Representation
Proportional Representation is a category of electoral formula that aims to closely match the percentage of electoral votes that groups of candidates (political parties) obtain and the percentage of seats they receive in the legislature. It is a system in contrast to Canada’s plurality voting system, where disproportional seat distribution results because the voters are divided into multiple electoral districts. This results in a “winner takes all” plurality or “first past the post” election race.
Basically with proportional representation (or fair voting) the Conservative Party would get 40% of the seats if it got 40% of the votes. Currently it is common for parties in Canada to get over 50% of the seats with just 38%-42% of the total vote. A party that was not deserving of majority government status is given that privilege just because the way the votes are counted are done in an arbitrary manner. Our plurality system was not built for political parties. It was this absurd unfairness that spurred me to get involved.
In 1996, I started what I believe was the first website dedicated to Proportional Representation. The site was called Canadians for Proportional Representation and from it grew the Canada-Votes LISTSERVE. It was this email discussion group that became the meeting forum for all of the main people who formed Fair Vote Canada. I was part of the FVC’s Interim Planning Council in 2000, was later elected and served one two-year term on its board of directors until 2002.
During this time, I had been working on what I hoped would have been a business enterprise that would have earned some profit while spreading the truth about Canada’s inadequate voting system. I had created a sole proprietorship called Beacon Publishing to self-publish a book called Polls, Parties, and Power: Waste and Distortion in Canada’s Elections.
Writing and putting together the book started in April 1999 and it took me close to three and a half years of part-time effort to complete. During this time, I came to realize the futility of self-publishing in paper form and opted to publish it electronically. In August 2002, I had dissolved my company, the book was finished and electronically published via the internet. The book was promoted to people within Fair Vote Canada and some of my colleagues in the Green Party of Manitoba. I have no idea how many times it has been downloaded or read but I do know that Larry Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada cited the work in their Dubious Democracy reports.
The eBook is little more than a collection of election result tables that are as interesting as a sports almanac for hockey. As I said in the book, “Unlike any sports championship, the political party that wins government affects all aspects of our lives. So get cozy with these statistics, they are after-all, how we elect our champions.” I had no illusion that the book was going to be much more than a statistical testimony of our voting system’s problems. The book remains available for free via download.
Polls, Parties, and Power: Waste and Distortion
in Canada’s Elections 1980-2000.
312 Pages ~ Format: PDF ~ Size: 4.86MB
Download it by right-clicking and selecting ‘Save As’.
Since the book’s release, my enthusiasm for PR has diminished. I am still a supporter of Fair Vote Canada because the principles of PR just make sense, but as you will read in a future post, PR is only one part of the formula to improve our governance.
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