Over the course of the past four months, NDP Members of Parliament launched countrywide public consultations on the pressing issue of electoral reform. I recently held a consultation here in our riding.
Our goal was to hear directly from Canadians about how they feel we can make our voting system fairer, and ensure that our elections produce governments that truly reflect what Canadians want.
The message from Canadians has been clear.
They are in favour of the principle of proportionality, with 84.3 per cent of participants agreeing or strongly agreeing with the following statement: “A party’s seats in Parliament should reflect the percentage of votes they received.”
Canadians want a voting system that meets their expectations of fairness, and for the vast majority that means making the number of seats closely match the popular vote a party receives.
Canadians want their votes to count. Proportionality would ensure that the number of seats that
a party has in Parliament reflects the percentage of votes it obtained.
It would also ensure that if someone’s chosen candidate is not elected, their votes still count towards the broader makeup of Parliament, rather than simply being thrown out. They believe proportional voting would address these problems.
Canadians want local representation. 81.7 per cent of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: “Having a local representative is important to me.”
They want an MP who will act as their voice in Parliament, whether it’s to simply to tell them if they’re doing a good job or to share their opinions on issues that are important to them.
