Electing a

government
Voting

 In the sequence of elections we start with dissolution followed by

enumeration, then nomination. Campaigning came next followed
by voting!

 In Canada we use first-past-the-post

 In every riding, the candidate that wins the highest number of votes wins
the right to represent that particular seat in the House of Commons.
 The winner does not need an absolute majority — i.e., more than 50 per
cent of the votes cast in the riding.
Why?
 Experts suggest first-past-the-post provides for more stability
whereas PR would likely result in more coalition
governments
 With the expectation being that coalition governments would fall
more easily
 It is swiftly completed and facilitates majority governments
 The fear is that dividing up Commons according to each party's
share of the vote would make it more difficult for any one party to
amass a majority of seats.
 People have an MP (or MLA) that is accountable to the electorate
because they could lose their seat in the next election
 Major parties benefit
from FPTP because
they are more likely to
have more power

 PR means that smaller

parties have more
opportunities to take
part
What about
proportional
representation?
 This is seen as a more fair way of electing
governments but there is a great deal of
fear around it

 Coalition governments means that the

parties have to work together rather than
focus on combatting each other
Mixed Member Representation is
one form of PR
 Voters want every vote to count, but they also want
an MP who has a personal connection to their riding.
With MMP you get a bit of both worlds: one ballot, two votes.
 One vote is for your choice of local candidate and it works
exactly the way elections work now: the candidate with the
most votes wins.
 Your second vote is for the party of your choice. The parties
will have a ranked list of candidates who will be elected in
order based on this vote. The votes are tallied and the
proportion of votes determines how many of these seats each
party gets
What about STV?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-4_yuK-K-k
Key terms…

 Currently one CANDIDATE wins the SEAT in their RIDING (or

CONSTITUENCY)
 That person is an MP (MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT) if they are at the
federal level and an MLA (MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY)
at the provincial level
 In Canada, we do NOT directly vote for our federal or provincial
leaders (PRIME MINISTER and PREMIER respectively)
 The PRIME MINISTER is the leader of the party that forms government
because the won the most SEATS in the House of Commons