After 135 years, our system of governance is still largely based on political institutions and practices unquestioningly adopted from Britain in the nineteenth century." The electoral system adopted by Canada is based on "first-past-the-post." The candidate who attracts the most votes wins the seat, no matter what percentage of the vote the candidate gets. Many believe that the current electoral system is flawed. Therefore, a call for election reform has been heard in Canada. "Most established democracies have abandoned winner-take-all systems for those based on proportional representation." Proportional representation is a system that ensures that a party's share of seats in parliament is a realistic indication of its share of the popular vote in a general election. Seats in the assembly are distributed fairly, based on the percentage of people who voted for the party in question. Both the "first-past-the-post" and proportional representation electoral systems have their strengths and weaknesses. Among the strengths of the "first-past-the-post" system is that it typically produces a stable, majority government. An example of a criticism of the system, on the other hand, is that it does not "reflect the main trends within the electorate." A government that is elected by a minority of the electorate cannot possibly reflect the wishes of the majority. Proportional representation, among other things, better reflects the wishes of the electorate because each vote contributes to the acquisition of a seat in the assembly by the elected party member. Unfortunately, the system more often than not produces an unstable minority government. Proportional representation is one of many possible solutions to the call for election reform by Canadians. Nevertheless, I do not believe that it would be an appropriate solution for Canada's electoral woes. .
3.
In order to determine whether Canada should maintain its "first-past-the-post" system, or opt for proportional representation, standards by which the two systems should be evaluated must first be established.
