e-4186 (Democratic process)
- Keywords
- Electoral representation
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Government of Canada
- The single transferable vote is a fair compromise for Canadians who support proportional representation, Canadians who oppose proportional representation but would support a riding-centric proportional system, and Canadians who oppose proportional representation but would support an electoral system with a preferential ballot;
- Under the single transferable vote, most voters would be ideologically represented by someone from their local multi-winner riding, allowing their ideological views on national and local issues to be heard;
- Under the single transferable vote, candidates would generally be elected on the basis of their individual characteristics and not just because of their political affiliation;
- The single transferable vote would lead to greater cross-party collaboration during election campaigns, as different political parties may decide to collaborate and ask their voters to rank their candidates highly so that at least one candidate from any of these parties meets the quota to be elected in a riding;
- The single transferable vote would lead to electoral support for the different political affiliations in each riding to be accurately reflected; and
- The single transferable vote would allow the party caucuses of parties with high national electoral support to be regionally diverse, leading to increased national unity.
Response by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Jennifer O'Connell
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.
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.
- Open for signature
- November 15, 2022, at 10:39 a.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- December 15, 2022, at 10:39 a.m. (EDT)
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Elizabeth May
(Saanich—Gulf Islands)
March 8, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01173) - Government response tabled
- April 21, 2023
Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.
Province / Territory | Signatures |
---|---|
Alberta | 62 |
British Columbia | 122 |
Manitoba | 23 |
New Brunswick | 14 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 7 |
Northwest Territories | 1 |
Nova Scotia | 14 |
Ontario | 421 |
Prince Edward Island | 2 |
Quebec | 83 |
Saskatchewan | 12 |
Yukon | 2 |