Electoral reform will soon be a subject we will hear ad nauseam, as the politically privileged put forth their cases. We are going to hear endless pitches from pundits and the elites alike on this not so simple question: should we maintain the First Past The Post system (FPTP) or a version of Proportional Representation (PR)? There are pros and cons to both systems, which we will hear about.
The Conservative side, along with some Liberals, prefers FPTP, as this has served them in the past. All they needed to win was for their candidates to gain the most votes than any other candidate. Every decade or so, they would be able to form a government, though this system ignores a number of citizens’ voices.
The remaining Liberals, with the NDP and Green parties – parties that have been rump parties, relatively new to the Canadian political landscape and less likely to make a government – want PR. They want to be at that table, stating that they too represent a segment of society whose voices ought to be heard. Though this is laudable of them, this could possibly lead to many minority governments in the future, creating instability for Canada. Nor does this system reflect the geographical imbalances in our government.
At the heart of this dispute is that all sides are really just seeking power, though they claim to represent the best interests of Canadians. They ignore the fact that most Canadians do not belong to a political party, feeling disconnected from this political system. None of these parties has said they will change how they operate, how they will interact with Canadians, which is probably the greatest fundamental flaw of our system. It is a tyranny of the minority, serving the self-interests of an elite – political and economic – dressed up in democracy.
Our system is a representative democracy that was never designed for a system as enfranchised or complex as ours. In the past, the majority of people would have been excluded from voting for various reasons. Only the landed and wealthy of our society were allowed to vote, the rest of us to be governed by their choices and benefactions. This hierarchical mindset persists, with little need, or want, to truly engage with Canadians.
The reality is that many Canadians, especially in Alberta, do not want to be governed, ruled over and controlled, spoken down to as if we were still plebs. The system does need overhauling; it does need to change. We need one where the political institutions are held accountable and in political and economic trust for Canadians, listening to their needs. This has been the subtle message from the U.K. and the U.S. elections, but it clearly has been ignored here. Instead, we will suffer a fate worthy of Machiavelli, a “Hobson’s Choice,” and these overlords will continue to dictate what is best for us. So, does electoral reform truly matter?
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
