Canadians Also Demanding Electoral Reform: Three Models Suggested

December 14, 2016

While Sri Lanka is discussing electoral reform which could change the preferential votes system, there is growing demands for electoral change in Canada.

All elections are held in Canada in the first-past-the-post system, almost similar to the system in Sri Lanka before 1978 constitution. Of course, Canada does not have multi-member constituencies like in Sri Lanka before 1978.

Fair Vote Canada, a grass root organization, suggested three systems of electoral reform, which included two already used systems and one system somewhat similar to what was used in Sri Lanka before 1978.

The three types recommended are: (1) Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), used in Germany, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales; (2) Single Transferrable Vote (STV), used in Ireland, Malta, parts of Great Britain and a few U.S. cities: (3) Rural-Urban, which would be a new form and which is essentially a combination of single-member districts in sparsely-populated areas and multi-members in densely-populated areas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his 2015 election campaign, promised electoral reform and said that 2015 election will be the last in the country with first-past-the-post system.