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Value Diversity and Support for Electoral Reform in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2006

Mebs Kanji  and
Antoine Bilodeau
Mebs Kanji
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Antoine Bilodeau
Affiliation:
Concordia University
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Extract

Political representatives in Canada have traditionally been selected using a first-past-the-post electoral system. The major problem with this process of determining “who governs” is that larger parties are often rewarded the majority of seats in legislatures without winning a majority of popular support. Recently, the debate on electoral reform in Canada has begun to gain steam, as several provinces have started to look more seriously at alternatives (Milner 2004). Declining voter turnout may explain why even governments that benefit from the current electoral system are finding it increasingly difficult to simply sideline this issue. But what accounts for the Canadian public's more recent frustration with their traditional electoral system?We would like to thank Nicki Doyle for her research assistance and Concordia University for its financial support.

Type
SYMPOSIUM—THE POLITICS OF CANADA
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , October 2006 , pp. 829 - 836
Copyright
© 2006 The American Political Science Association

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