Making Every Vote Count : Reassessing Canada's Electoral System /
Making Every Vote Count : Reassessing Canada's Electoral System /
ed. by Henry Milner.
- 1 online resource (320 p.)
restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
Among the political institutions inherited from Canada's British past is the system by which people are elected to office. This electoral system, used by only a small minority of stable democracies, is usually referred to by a metaphor whose origins lie in the British passion for horse racing: first-past-the-post (FPTP). Yet FPTP is on the defensive even in countries with British institutions - starting with Britain itself, which has made important changes and is debating others. Australia and Ireland from the start adopted systems that significantly differed from FPTP. Even in the US, proportional (PR) systems are being discussed and, at the local level, being tried out. And in 1996 New Zealand went all the way and adopted the German form of PF. If New Zealand, the most British of Britain's ex-colonies could turn its back on FPTP, it is not surprising that it has found favour in the new South Africa or among the democracies that emerged in the wake of the demise of Communism. Yet the debate over electoral system reform is largely absent in Canada despite the outcome of recent federal elections making Canada a textbook example of how FPTP can regionalize political party representation in Parliament. This sorely needed discussion will be fostered by this book, which brings the best up-to-date analyses and critiques from the best qualified observers to bear on the Canadian situation both from at home and abroad.
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
In English.
9781551112565 9781442602717
10.3138/9781442602717 doi
Elections--Canada.
Representative government and representation--Canada.
Voting--Canada.
Coursebook.
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections.
JL193
324.630971
restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
Among the political institutions inherited from Canada's British past is the system by which people are elected to office. This electoral system, used by only a small minority of stable democracies, is usually referred to by a metaphor whose origins lie in the British passion for horse racing: first-past-the-post (FPTP). Yet FPTP is on the defensive even in countries with British institutions - starting with Britain itself, which has made important changes and is debating others. Australia and Ireland from the start adopted systems that significantly differed from FPTP. Even in the US, proportional (PR) systems are being discussed and, at the local level, being tried out. And in 1996 New Zealand went all the way and adopted the German form of PF. If New Zealand, the most British of Britain's ex-colonies could turn its back on FPTP, it is not surprising that it has found favour in the new South Africa or among the democracies that emerged in the wake of the demise of Communism. Yet the debate over electoral system reform is largely absent in Canada despite the outcome of recent federal elections making Canada a textbook example of how FPTP can regionalize political party representation in Parliament. This sorely needed discussion will be fostered by this book, which brings the best up-to-date analyses and critiques from the best qualified observers to bear on the Canadian situation both from at home and abroad.
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
In English.
9781551112565 9781442602717
10.3138/9781442602717 doi
Elections--Canada.
Representative government and representation--Canada.
Voting--Canada.
Coursebook.
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections.
JL193
324.630971