441-02227 (Democratic process)

The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening Canada’s democratic institutions. Our electoral system (i.e., the fundamental rules determining how votes are translated into seats in the House of Commons) is one of the most foundational pieces of our democracy. Among many things it provides Canadians with a direct connection to their Members of Parliament (MP), who must work with each other in developing national policy and making political decisions, while engaging and remaining accountable to their constituents in an increasingly digital and connected Canada.

The first-past-the-post system is not perfect – no system is – but it has served Canada well for over 150 years and continues to advance the democratic values that Canadians want reflected in their system of government. This includes strong local representation, stability, and accountability. How Canadians vote and how we govern ourselves is fundamentally important and impacts us all. Given this, the Government’s view has been very clear – any major reforms to the electoral system should not be made without the broad support of Canadians.

However, there are a number of ways in which the Government continues to seek to improve Canada’s federal electoral process. Notably, in 2018, the Government introduced the Elections Modernization Act, which represented a significant reform of the Canada Elections Act, which modernized the electoral process, making it easier for Canadians to participate in elections and further bolstering Canadians’ trust and confidence in Canada’s world class electoral system.

As part of this continuous improvement, in 2021, the Prime Minister asked the now-Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs to consider the Chief Electoral Officer’s legislative recommendations from the 43rd and 44th general elections to further support transparency, fairness and participation in the federal electoral process. And more recently, in March 2022, the Prime Minister announced an agreement reached by the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party in Parliament, Delivering for Canadians Now, A Supply and Confidence Agreement, which recognizes a shared commitment to maintaining the health of Canada’s democracy and the need to remove barriers to voting and participation by exploring ways to expand the ability for people to vote.

In a healthy democracy, there is always more work to do, but Canadians have many reasons to be proud of their electoral system. The Government of Canada will continue to work to strengthen and protect our democratic practices and institutions to ensure they uphold Canadian values.