The Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy

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Are We Afraid of Proportional Representation? (C. Inch)

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May 20, 2020

Are We Afraid of Proportional Representation? (C. Inch)

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This article is also posted on SocialCanada.org

It was about two years ago now, just in advance of the latest electoral reform referendum in British Columbia, that I had one of those rare moments of insight. I had been an advocate of proportional representation (PR) since I learned about it about 2 years before. I was puzzled by the debate surrounding such a straightforward concept – the percentage of seats a party holds in the legislative body reflects the percentage of votes that it received. Isn’t that what democracy was meant to achieve?

At first, I thought that such a great idea lacked only visibility. But when I started to write about it in local papers and raise it with colleagues and friends, I realized that it didn’t spark the same leap of faith in others that it had in me.

A common argument I heard was that it was too complicated. The outcome is clear – the will of the people is directly reflected in the elected body. How that is achieved is, like electricity, the internal combustion engine and the internet, is a little more complicated, especially when compared to our existing First Past the Post (FPTP) system. The fact that I don’t understand how they work doesn’t stop me from switching on a light, driving my car or hooking up to Netflix so I recognized it must be something else that makes people hesitate.

Among the reasons that the B.C. referendum on electoral reform did not succeed is that business interests mounted a publicity campaign opposing the concept. They recognized that the ease with which lobbying can be done with one or the other of the large political parties would be impaired. Their tactics were to scare the populace in advance of the referendum by claiming that it would have a negative impact on the economy. I didn’t see that as a real threat as most Canadians can see through that kind of self-serving logic. 

More clarity on why Canadians are not embracing PR happened for me when I heard Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, speaking at the Broadbent Institute on June 25, 2018. She was not a proponent of PR but the people of NZ had spoken and she was Prime Minister and had to make it work.

Her objections to PR were summarized in a sentence. She said she was afraid of a step into the unknown and that she didn’t know much about PR because of the heritage of our Anglo-American democracies. Most of the English-speaking world is managed by a FPTP system and all that we hear about PR is the negative impact of failing coalitions in Italy or Israel. Stable, highly successful democracies using PR such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands are not newsworthy in the English speaking press. Tada! Now I understand what is holding back electoral reform!

To return to the success story that is New Zealand, for the previous 20 or so years prior to 1996 when it was first used in an election, New Zealanders had been very dissatisfied with false majority leaders who, in Helen Clark’s words, “behaved like dictators”. The road to PR was long and winding and included a Royal Commission but once achieved, the country has enjoyed continuing success. 

Under Helen Clark’s leadership from 1999 to 2008, New Zealand achieved significant economic growth, low levels of unemployment, and high levels of investment in education and health, and in the well-being of families and older citizens. She and her government prioritized reconciliation and the settlement of historical grievances with New Zealand’s indigenous people and the development of an inclusive multicultural and multi-faith society.  She credits much of this success to the fact that every bill that was introduced was crafted by all the parties. Nothing went forward that wasn’t guaranteed to pass. She said that it was a learning curve to be so collaborative but that it’s really the only way for countries to successfully govern.

As I look at similar issues in Canada related to regionalization, polarization and alienation, I sense that Canadians are ready for their own version of a Royal Commission. Fair Vote Canada, an advocacy group for PR, has proposed a Citizen’s Forum to review the issue. This proposal was among others sent to the Prime Minister from social justice advocates, economists and policy leaders in an article on the Pearson Centre for Progressive policy website http://www.thepearsoncentre.ca/progressive-memos/3004/

Now that I better understand what is holding back enthusiasm, I suggest that familiarity is the antidote. Fair Vote Canada is inviting public participation at their Annual Conference on line May 29 and 30. https://www.fairvote.ca/ There are a number of interesting speakers, among them a New Zealand academic who will recount how the success of New Zealand’s response to the pandemic is attributable in large measure, to their electoral system. Remember how decisively their proportionally elected government reacted to the Christchurch shooting incident too? One of the other advantages of PR governments is that they are efficient and non-partisan in a crisis. 

Hope to “see” you at the Fair Vote Canada Annual Conference!