Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals have achieved what only months ago seemed impossible: Win a rare fourth consecutive term in office.

However, despite national voter turnout of 68 per cent – a level not seen since 1993 – less than one-third of eligible voters actually supported the winning party. Furthermore, the Bloc Québécois ended up with 22 seats in the House of Commons compared with seven for the NDP even though both parties got roughly the same number of national votes (1.2 million.)

These are just some of the negative results of the “first-past-the-post” electoral system, which leads to a Commons that fails to reflect the country’s diversity, amplifies polarization and leaves thousands of Canadians feeling unrepresented.

With mounting threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and growing internal political polarization, Canada needs a serious rethink on how we vote. We need a new system that ensures our governments better represent all Canadians and that strengthens our democracy.

The best alternative is some form of proportional representation – a voting system used by the vast majority of countries because it not only leads to more effective political representation, but also to better democratic institutions and greater human rights.

© IRPP - Policy Options