Proportional representation in Canada

Proportional representation in Canada refers to the ongoing debate over whether and how to adopt proportional representation (PR), usually mixed-member proportional or single transferable vote, to provincial and/or federal elections in Canada. Cities in Manitoba and Alberta elected representatives to their legislatures in various cities using proportional representation between the 1920s and 1950s. Federal adoption of PR has been historically supported by the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party with varying levels of support over time. In the 2010s, there was a brief all-party support for PR following the 2015 Canadian federal election.

Background

Members of the House of Commons of Canada (lower house) are elected by first-past-the-post (the candidate with the most votes wins) in single-member districts called "ridings."[1] The prime minister of Canada is chosen by the parliament, typically by a party with a majority of seats.

History

The Proportional Representation League was founded in 1893 as an international (United States and Canada) association of PR advocates.[2] The group put out a quarterly PR Review in the first decades of the 1900s.[3]

In late 1915, the Canadian P.R. Society was formed.[4]

1910s

The first city in Canada to use proportional representation was in Calgary in 1916.[4]

1920s-1930s committees

Following the 1919 Winnipeg general strike, a royal commission "appointed to inquire into the reasons for industrial unrest" suggested proportional representation as a way to appease laborers.[5] The 1920 Manitoba general election was the first election in Manitoba to use proportional representation (single transferable vote) in Winnipeg.[6] Multiple cities in Alberta also adopted PR following its use in Winnipeg.[5]

In May 1921, the House of Commons 1921 Special Committee on Proportional Representation and the Subject of the Single Transferable or Preferential Vote was formed. The report found that single-member ridings only served the "intended function" when two candidates competed for the seat. While the report did not explicitly propose single transferable vote (STV) for the upcoming election, it did recommend holding a referendum on STV and implementing the alternative vote (instant-runoff voting) in ridings with more than two candidates.[7]

William Lyon Mackenzie King was a member of the Proportional Representation Society of Canada (P.R. Society).[8] He later was elected on a platform that included PR in December 1921.[9]

It is true that in the Liberal platform which was passed in August, 1919, a platform they do not like to be reminded of any oftener than cannot be avoided, the Liberal party committed itself to the principle of proportional representation.

— Arthur Meighen, Leader of the Opposition, 1923[10]

King again expressed support for proportional representation in 1933[11] ahead of the 1935 election:

I believe that the only true method of securing a representative parliament is by a system of proportional representation properly worked out with regard to the dominion as a whole. The reform should commence with the cities and the larger municipalities in our country.

— William Lyon Mackenzie King, Leader of the Opposition, 1933

Another committee (The Special Committee on Elections and Franchise Acts) was formed in 1935 to look at whether STV or the alternative vote (AV) would be "conducive to good government." The 2016 file characterized this 1936 report as "more reserved" than the 1921 report.[7]

Decline in 1950s

By the 1950s, after decades of gerrymandering and apportionment issues (cities had fewer representatives than their proportion of the total population), preferential voting and proportional representation fell out of favour in Manitoba. Additionally, due to mixed electoral systems in the province, candidates were perceived to focus disproportionately on rural regions.[5]

1979-1991 reports

Three more government reports discussed proportional representation during the latter half of the 20th century.[7]

  • Task Force on Canadian Unity, also known as the Pépin-Robarts Commission (1979)
    • Recommended MMP
  • Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada, also known as the MacDonald Commission (1985)
    • Recommended PR in the Senate or PR in the House of Commons as a second choice
  • Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing, also known as the Lortie Commission (1991)
    • Recommended keeping FPTP
    • Was open to PR in the Senate

2000s

Main article: Elections in Canada § 2000-2009

During the 2000s, a series of provincial electoral reform ballot initiatives failed.

2010s-present

In December 2014, the New Democratic Party (NDP) put forward a motion in the Commons to promise that the 2015 Canadian federal election "should be the last conducted under the current first-past-the-post electoral system" and the last "under any other winner-take-all electoral system." The party supported a move toward mixed-member proportional (MMP).[12][13][14] Conservative party spokesman Jason MacDonald argued Canadians did not want electoral reform and that "the NDP should respect democratic will of Canadians."[12]

In 2015, Justin Trudeau vowed to make the 2015 election the last election to use first past the post (FPTP) and "make every vote count."[15] In the Liberal Party's 2015 manifesto, the Liberal Party stated, "Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform."[16]

Main article: Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform

In the months after winning an outright majority in Parliament with less than 40% of the vote, the Liberals were accused of stalling on electoral reform.[17] In 2016, the Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform was formed to research and propose changes to Canada's electoral system. The file was released in December 2016.[18] After Maryam Monsef, the Minister of Democratic Institutions, criticized the process and results of the file, she was replaced with Karina Gould, and the Liberal Party formally abandoned electoral reform efforts.[19] Elections Canada had set a deadline in mid-2017 for changes ahead of the 2019 election.[17]

Main article: 2016 Prince Edward Island electoral reform referendum

Held during the national conversation over PR, Prince Edward Island voters ranked (using instant-runoff voting) MMP as their preferred electoral system for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in a nonbinding referendum.[20][21] The election's 36.46% turnout was criticized for being abnormally low.[22][23]

Main article: 2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum

A third referendum to change BC's electoral system occurred on December 7, 2018. The referendum was put forward by a confidence and supply arrangement from the NDP and Greens.[24][25][26] The change was defeated by 22.6 percentage points.[27]

Main article: 2019 Prince Edward Island electoral reform referendum

A referendum in Prince Edward Island on whether to switch from FPTP to MMP was narrowly defeated by 3.48%,[28] although the result is technically "nonbinding" as neither the Yes or No options received a majority of the vote in 60% or more of the province's electoral districts (the threshold).[29]

Support and opposition

Polling

A Business in Vancouver exit poll after 2025 Canadian federal election found 58% of voters supported PR for federal elections, 17% were opposed, and 25% were unsure.[30]

A Research Co. poll in early 2026 found majority support for party-list proportional representation (55%) but not majority support for STV (48%) or MMP (46%). Support for party-list PR was significantly higher among Canadians aged 18-34 (65%) than 55+ Canadians (45%). The poll also found that two-thirds of voters were satisfied with FPTP. [31]

Support

Fair Vote Canada advocates for proportional representation for the Parliament of Canada.[32] The group lists multiple systems as options, including open-list PR, single transferable vote (proportional ranked-choice voting), MMP, and regional proportional representation.[33]

The nationwide New Democratic Party supports proportional representation.[34][35] NDP leadership in Ontario is in support of PR, particularly MMP.[36]

The Liberal Party supported PR following the 2011 election when came third in seat share.[15] The party has not supported PR since 2017.[17]

Opposition

Most contemporary PR referenda have failed in Canada.

In late 2025, Premier David Eby (NDP) stated he had no interest in pursuing PR in British Columbia.[37]

  • Ronald Hooper, honorary secretary of the Canadian P.R. Society
  • Fair Vote Canada members advocate for proportional representation in 2013
  • Social media post advocating for PR on Flickr
  • Rally for PR in Waterloo, Ontario in September 2025

See also

References

  1. ^ "Elections Canada On-Line". Electoral Insight. November 21, 2006. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
  2. ^ The two-country base of the PR League is shown by proposal to have the League's executive council composed of one member from each U.S. state and each Canadian province. https://archive.org/details/jstor-1009042/page/n5/mode/2up
  3. ^ Tyson, Robert. "The League and the Review". The Proportional Representation Review. Vol. 1. HathiTrust. pp. 73–74. hdl:2027/coo.31924011886177. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Clarence Gilbert Hoag (1926-01-01). Proportional representation,. Internet Archive. The Macmillan company. p. 224.
  5. ^ a b c "How Manitoba broke ground with a decades-long proportional representation experiment now 'faded from memory' | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2025-07-23. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  6. ^ "Events in Manitoba History: Proportional Voting (1920-1957)" https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/events/proportionalvoting.shtml accessed August 19, 2025
  7. ^ a b c "Strengthening Democracy in Canada: Principles, Process and Public Engagement for Electoral Reform" (PDF). December 2016.
  8. ^ Proportional Representation Review. Proportional Representation League. 1896.
  9. ^ "100 years of broken promises". Fair Vote Canada. Archived from the original on 2026-01-19. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  10. ^ "Lipad - February 19, 1923 - Browse the Canadian House of Commons". www.lipad.ca. Archived from the original on 2025-08-03. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  11. ^ "Lipad - May 25, 1933 - Browse the Canadian House of Commons". www.lipad.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-12-28. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  12. ^ a b O'Malley, Kady. "NDP proposal puts electoral reform on House agenda". CBC.
  13. ^ "The case for mixed-member proportional representation". Macleans.ca (in Canadian French). 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  14. ^ "Let's debate proportional representation, again". Macleans.ca (in Canadian French). 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  15. ^ a b Barton, Rosemary. "Justin Trudeau vows to end 1st-past-the-post voting in platform speech". CBC.
  16. ^ "A New Plan for a Strong Middle Class" (PDF).
  17. ^ a b c Reporter, Alex Boutilier Ottawa Bureau (2017-01-10). "Rookie MP Gould takes over troubled electoral reform file". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  18. ^ "Sage Journals: Discover world-class research". Sage Journals. doi:10.1089/elj.2017.0444. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  19. ^ Major, Darren. "Trudeau says abandoning electoral reform is his biggest regret. Here's how it happened". CBC.
  20. ^ Roberts, Rob (7 July 2016). "PEI sets voting-reform plebiscite for fall". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Elections PEI: Plebiscite Results". www.electionspei.ca. Elections PEI. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  22. ^ Bradley, Susan (8 November 2016). "P.E.I. plebiscite results favour mixed member proportional representation". CBC News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  23. ^ Yarr, Kevin (7 November 2016). "Voter turnout in electoral reform plebiscite remains low". CBC News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016. Voter turnout in provincial general elections is typically above 80 per cent on P.E.I.
  24. ^ McElroy, Justin (May 29, 2017). "B.C. Green Party agrees to support NDP in the legislature". CBC News. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  25. ^ BC NDP Caucus (May 30, 2017). "2017 Confidence and Supply Agreement between the BC Green Caucus and the BC New Democrat Caucus" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Hipolito, Chad (May 31, 2018). "The road ahead for B.C. politics". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  27. ^ Elections BC (May 12, 2009). "Statement of Votes – Referendum on Electoral Reform" (PDF). p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  28. ^ Bradley, Susan (November 8, 2016). "P.E.I. plebiscite results favour mixed member proportional representation". CBC News. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  29. ^ The Canadian Press (April 24, 2019). "Slim majority vote 'no' to electoral reform in P.E.I. referendum". CTV News. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  30. ^ Canseco, Mario (2025-05-08). "Mario Canseco: Door still open to Canadian electoral reform, polling shows". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  31. ^ Canseco, Mario (2026-03-12). "Existing Electoral System OK for Almost Two Thirds of Canadians". Research Co. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
  32. ^ Lupton, Andrew. "Electoral reform keeps stalling in Canada, but advocate says it isn't dead". CBC.
  33. ^ "Proportional representation systems for Canada". Fair Vote Canada. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  34. ^ "Historic report lays out path to a fair voting system". Canada's NDP. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  35. ^ "5 things to know about proportional representation". Canada's NDP. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  36. ^ Canada, Fair Vote (2025-02-22). "Ontario election 2025: Where parties stand on electoral reform". Fair Vote Canada. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  37. ^ Palmer, Vaughn. "David Eby to Greens: For the NDP, proportional representation is a non-starter". Vancouver Sun.
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