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proportional representation pie charts

 

What is proportional representation?

 

Proportional representation (PR) is a principle that says the percentage of seats a party has in the legislature should reflect the percentage of people who voted for that party. If a party gets 40% of the vote, they should get 40% of the seats.

Under our non-proportional voting system, a party can win a majority of seats and all the power with far less than half the popular vote.

Proportional representation ensures that majority governments have an actual majority of the voters behind them.

Under our non-proportional voting system, in most elections, most voters don’t elect anyone to represent them. They don’t affect the election at all. Their votes are “wasted”. This is what leads to distorted results.

With PR, almost every vote helps elect an MP. Almost everyone is represented.

With PR, every law passed will have the support of MPs representing a real majority of voters. That means better policy decisions for everyone.

PR 101 webinar on the 15th of every month

Want to learn the basics of the campaign for proportional representation? What’s wrong with winner-take-all systems? What is proportional representation? How would it strengthen our democracy?

Join Fair Vote Canada for PR 101! A half hour presentation is followed by questions and answers in a small group setting.

Offered on the 15th of every month. 1 PM Eastern if the date is on a weekend, 8 PM Eastern if the date is during the week. Register for any of the upcoming sessions.

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