Canada s Electoral System Why Does Voting Matter

Canada’s Electoral System

Why Does Voting Matter? The power and freedom of citizens to choose their government is the most fundamental principle of democracy. Voting and elections are how governments and politicians are held accountable for their actions. If Canadians don’t like the way they are being governed, they can choose a new government. But they have to VOTE!

The Electoral System It is the highly structured system through which people vote, votes are counted, and people are elected to government. The main principle is that whoever gets the most votes wins. This is known as receiving a plurality (most) of votes; NOT a majority (50% + 1) of votes. Canada uses the first-past-the-post system there is no limit to the number of candidates whichever candidate gets the most votes wins means the government can be elected by a minority

Ridings Canada is divided into 338 federal Ridings (or Electoral Districts) Riding (Constituency) – a clearly defined geographic area for political purposes A riding contains approximately 100, 000 people

Ridings Because ridings are based on population, some are geographically large while others are small

Ridings

Kitchener South - Hespeler

Elections During an election, voting citizens elect one candidate to represent each riding Candidates usually represent a political party, but may also run independently The candidate with the most votes (plurality) wins

Elections The winning candidate becomes the Member of Parliament for their riding Each Member of Parliament (MP) has a seat in the House of Commons (until the next election) and will represent the interests of their constituency Most MPs also sit as a member of a particular political party When voting in Parliament, each MP has one (1) vote

2006 Election – National Results

2008 Election – National Results

2011 Election – National Results

2015 – National Results

House of Commons Source: Elections Canada. Graphic by Pierre A. Lepetit.

The Government Members of Parliament sit together with other members of the same political party The political party with the most Members of Parliament forms the government The leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister The Prime Minister chooses Cabinet Ministers - have the responsibility of running major federal departments

The Opposition All other parties become opposition parties, but the party with the second most seats becomes the Official Opposition Some members of the Official Opposition also form a Shadow Cabinet headed by the Leader of the Official Opposition This group is responsible for criticizing and challenging the Cabinet Andrew Scheer Conservative Party of Canada.

The Government There can only be three types of government in Canada 1. 2. 3. Majority Government Minority Government Coalition Government

Majority Government When a political party wins more than half (155) of the ridings in the election The leader of this party becomes the prime minister The party in power will have little difficulty passing legislation

Majority Government

Minority Government When a political party wins more ridings than any other party, but does not win more than half (155) The leader of this party becomes the prime minister The party in power depends on support from other parties to pass legislation

Minority Government

Coalition Government Occurs when there is a minority government Two parties join together to form a minority or majority government The Leader of one of these parties becomes the prime minister

Coalition Government

How are Voters Influenced? Marketing a politician is like selling a product: Political Polling: ask voters who they are voting for and report results Political Events: meet voters in person through rallies, public speeches, fundraisers, site visits and door-to-door Political Advertising: Ads on TV, radio, internet, newspapers Social Media: politicians are on Facebook & Twitter promoting their brand Political Promises: Gain votes by making promises to a large or influential group of citizens Negative Campaigning: Attacking a political opponent to discredit them

How do voters know who to vote for? Analyze the information: Is someone objective or biased? Truthful or a liar? Principled or corrupt? These might be difficult to answer but by analysing information you can make an educated decision Differentiate between fact, opinion, argument and propaganda Compare their platform with your beliefs: Do they share a similar political perspective? What are their personality traits? What are the evidence and arguments they have made? What programs and policies are they promising? What is their political track record?

Sources Elections Canada Wikipedia Civics and Citizenship by Canadian Investigations