Open AccessTailor-Made for Canada
Author(s) -
D. J. McCracken
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
federalism-e journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2562-3435
DOI - 10.24908/fede.v21i2.14074
Subject(s) - legislature , representation (politics) , accountability , politics , political science , proportional representation , political economy , public administration , electoral system , economics , law , democracy
While reform of Canada's electoral system has not yet occurred, it has been an ever-present, ever-potent topic in Canadian political science since the middle of the 20th Century. While there are aspects of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) to be admired, its fundamental flaws cannot be ignored; the system encourages parties to exacerbate sectionalism, leaves far too many voters unrepresented, and too often allows for uncooperative governments. Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), a form of Proportional Representation (PR), possesses the best aspect of FPTP, local representation and accountability, and amends its most serious flaws. MMP represents all votes cast, attenuates sectionalism, and creates diverse legislatures that incentivize cross-party cooperation far more than FPTP does currently. Canada is nearly a perfect country for MMP, and this system should be implemented for our federal elections.