We may see fireworks at the Liberal Party of Canada’s convention this weekend, with leading Liberals apparently at odds over a resolution calling for a change to the voting system.

The resolution before the convention calls for the Liberal Party to implement “a preferential ballot” for national elections, presumably in the current, single-member ridings. The system, known as Alternative Vote (AV) or Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), is used in Australia to elect their House of Commons.

“It’s a phony reform,” says Shoni Field, President of Fair Vote Canada (FVC). “Initially voters may feel like they have greater choice with Alternative Vote; however they quickly see that it’s just another winner take all system, where the outcomes are as inaccurate as First Past the Post.”

Some Liberals, notably democratic reform critic Stéphane Dion, think that AV will elect more Liberals, because they still see the Liberals as ‘everybody’s second choice’. But Interim Leader Bob Rae is a supporter of a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system like that used in Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales, and recommended for Canada in 2004 by the Law Commission of Canada. Rae campaigned for MMP in the Ontario referendum of 2007, and he has been speaking out in public recently for proportional representation.

“Political parties who think that they can placate reform-hungry Canadians while serving their own political interests should be wary,” says Wayne Smith, Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada. “The majority of Canadians (68%) want a proportional system and will not take too kindly to a non-proportional system that perpetuates the flaws of first past the post.”

“Promoting Alternate Vote for Canada would be a huge strategic error” says Field. “It would not offer Canadians more real choices. It would not help elect more women. And AV would not give us a House of Commons that better reflects how we voted or the diversity of our society, and thus would not give us a Government more in touch with the will of the people.”

The Alternative Vote system was soundly rejected by voters in referendums last year in Great Britain and New Zealand.

“Fair Vote Canada calls on the Liberals, and all political parties in Canada, to work for the adoption of a fair and proportional electoral system that will accurately reflect voters’ wishes” says Smith.