In the 2015 electoral campaign, Justin Trudeau promised that this would be last the Canadian federal election using the archaic voting system, single member plurality (SMP) better known as first-past-the-post (FPTP). He didn't keep his promise. Now we know why.
In yesterday's general election, from a democratic perspective Trudeau did not win the election. He lost. The Conservatives actually received more votes. He is the Prime Minister because of the manner votes are translated into seats in Canada.
In reality, there are 338 separate elections during the general election. In each one, all that is required is to receive the most votes. There is no direct relation between the total number of votes cast and the distribution of seats.
In a hypothetical example, if we divide a region into ten distinct electoral districts and in each district, Party A wins 40% of the vote, Party B wins 30%, and Party C wins 20% of the vote, Party A wins all the electoral districts and gets 100% of the available seats. Obviously, the goal here is not to provide democratic representation but to reward the political party who wins what is essentially an electoral contest not an exercise in democracy.
That's just what happened in Canada. Trudeau didn't win a democratic election. He won a piss poor electoral contest just like Trump won in the USA, held with slightly different rules but with the same intent.
In Canada during the last 15 years, there have been 6 referendums at the provincial level that gave the option of changing the voting system. There will be a seventh referendum in Quebec in 2022. The problems of FPTP are well known. Even Justin Trudeau is aware of them.
So, why don't Canadians demand something better? Well, that would entail sustained political engagement and Canadians are just too lazy and would simply prefer to defer to authority and continue to participate in electoral contests rather than live in a democracy.
Perhaps, the only way to get out of this mess is for the Supreme Court of Canada to declare the voting system null and void for not respecting the right to vote as stipulated in Section 3 of the Charter.
Soon, there will be Charter Challenge launched by a group of citizens that seeks such a result.
Maybe the Supreme Court will uphold the rights of Canadians to participate in a meaningful exercise of democracy when choosing their representatives.
