Fair Vote Canada is a national citizens’ campaign for
proportional representation (PR).
Campaign actions, election results and important campaign topics
93% of submissions to the BC Democratic and Electoral Reform Committee committee called for proportional representation.
Following BC’s 2024 election, the BC NDP and BC Green Party negotiated a “Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord” which included an all-party committee that will look at proportional representation. The committee conducted public hearings in summer 2025. Of the 865 submissions or presentations which included an opinion on the voting system, 93% advocated for proportional representation.
First-past-the-post delivers us closer to a two-party system
The results of this election demonstrate, once again, that Canada’s archaic voting system is failing voters. Canadians on the left and right flocked to the two big parties, with many motivated to block the other side from winning a majority.
The outcome brings us closer a two-party system. This minority government is an opportunity for parties to work together on proportional representation.
Watch our election 2025 ad
A winner-take-all voting system can give one person and one party a lot of power. In Canada, one party can get all the power with 39% of the vote. Elections are a huge opportunity to draw attention to the problems with our winner-take-all voting system, and to let politicians know that Canadians want leadership on proportional representation!
Watch our ad on CBC, CTV and Global, with thanks to supporters who made this possible!
National poll shows strong support for proportional representation
68% of Canadians support moving to proportional representation, with only 19% opposed and 13% unsure
When asked if they would like the future Prime Minister to support proportional representation, 62% said yes, 16% no, and 22% were unsure.
PCs form a “majority” government with 43% of the vote: Ontario voters cheated again by first-past-the-post
Only 43% of Ontario voters supported the PCs, yet the voting system has handed Doug Ford’s PCs 64.5 % of the seats and 100% of the power.
Proportional representation: our stories
Read the stories of Fair Vote Canada volunteers. Why does proportional representation matter to them, and how did they get involved?
Fact checking Justin Trudeau
“He said he should have immediately shut down talk about proportional representation…” and “confessed Liberals were deliberately vague in order to appeal to Fair Vote Canada advocates.”
– Toronto Star article about the Justin Trudeau interview, October 3, 2024.
Justin Trudeau’s October 2024 interview with Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was full of misinformation about proportional representation. Read our piece to get the facts.
MPs from all parties voted for Motion M-86, but not enough to win
In addition to the support of the NDP, Green Party and Bloc MPs, 39 Liberals and 3 Conservatives voted for the motion. While it’s extremely disappointing that not enough MPs voted for Motion M-86 to see it pass, achieving so much support from MPs from every party is a testament to the perseverance, determination and hard work of volunteers across the country.
LIBERAL PARTY VOTES TO BACK A NATIONAL CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY ON ELECTORAL REFORM
National Poll
A December 2022 EKOS poll shows 76% of Canadians—including a strong majority of supporters of all parties—back a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
Support for the fundamental principle of proportional representation is strong. 90% say that Parliament should reflect how people voted. 78% think that majority governments should have at least 50% of the popular vote.
Canadians firmly oppose any single party alone changing the electoral system to suit their preferences. Read the full results!
How did other democracies get proportional representation?
The political moment that opens the door to PR is unique in each country. The “how” PR happens done boils down to one thing: Multi-party agreement.
In almost every country with proportional representation, parties were willing to compromise and hammer out an agreement.
Non-proportional ranked ballots are no solution
When people hear the term “ranked ballot” they often think of the system that Justin Trudeau likes. This system, properly called Alternative Vote, just pastes a ranked ballot onto our current system, and delivers results as bad (or even worse!) than first-past-the-post. You can learn about why ranked ballots in single member ridings are no solution here.
Ireland’s 2024 election shows that proportional representation works
Ireland’s system of proportional representation has produced fair, cooperative politics and has helped the country avoid political polarization. Read more about how proportional representation worked in Ireland’s 2024 election.
UK 2024 election:
First-past-the-post hands Labour all the power with 33.7% of the vote
First-past-the-post delivered the most disproportional results in the UK since 1918.
Germany and Ontario: A sharp contrast in what democracy can be
In Germany, 82.5% of the electorate turned out to vote. In Ontario, a mere 45% showed up. In Germany, with proportional representation, the seats in the Bundestag (Parliament) fairly reflected what voters said with their ballots. In Ontario, with first-past-the-post, 43% of the vote gave Doug Ford’s PCs 65% of the seats and 100% of the power.
Research shows proportional representation reduces partisan hostility
Many Canadians are deeply concerned with creeping political polarization in Canada. Research shows that cooperative governance produced by proportional representation reduces partisan hostility and polarization among the public.
Which voting systems promote collaborative politics?
Most Canadians intuitively know that long-term solutions will not be achieved by a single party in any four-year term and will require serious and ongoing cooperation between parties of all stripes at all levels of government. Which voting systems promote more cooperation?
If there’s anything we can learn from the Americans, it’s that Canada doesn’t need a two-party system
The United States has become a flashing billboard for what can happen when a winner-take-all voting system has reduced a country’s politics to two warring camps, and way too much power is concentrated with one person. If our political leaders care about the future of Canada, they cannot afford to ignore these lessons. The top-ranked democracies in the world use proportional representation.
Canadians were first promised proportional representation in 1921
Once in power, politicians like the system that elected them. Learn about 100 years of inaction and broken promises on proportion representation.
First-past-the-post empowers leaders with extreme political views
The voting system system impacts how much influence over government policy politicians with extreme views may have. A proportional system tends to moderate the impact of extremist politicians.
Research
Check out the research on proportional representation, including measures of democracy and outcomes on issues including health, economics, environment and more.
Are referendums the best way to get an informed decision on electoral reform? Read our position statement on referendums or watch our in-depth webinar of lessons learned.
Countries with proportional representation do better on climate performance. Read our special report on climate and PR.
Organizations that support Fair Vote Canada in our mission to achieve Proportional Representation
