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Canadian Voting System: First Past The Post

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The Canadian voting system is called “First past the Post”, which entails that the candidate with the most votes in a riding wins a seat in the House of Commons and represents that riding as its member of parliament. In today’s society, there has been great controversy over the first past the post system, and the flaws of our electoral process. As a Canadian citizen it is supposed to simple and easy for us to vote, however through this most recent 2015 election there was more cause for concern than cohesion.
In the past, the results of Canada’s federal election have exemplified the problem of our first past the post system of voting. In this system, the representative who receives the most votes in an area wins each riding. As a result, it …show more content…

This proposed legislation had a specific intention to try and deter young people from voting as Harper and the conservatives knew that the younger audiences are not the ones voting for him. This bill planned to eliminate two methods of voting that have been proven to be effective in deterring younger audiences to vote. The first form of voting that has been eliminated is the practice of vouching. Before, if you didn’t have the proper identification, a voter in your polling area can vouch for you and enable you to still vote and cast a ballot. In most cases it’s often someone who can prove their identity but not their current address, specifically students or somebody who has recently moved. To add even more cause for concern to our electoral process, this bill also prohibits the Chief electoral officer from engaging in public education or democratic outreach to groups that have been known to not participate in voting. Following the last election where we had a record low voter turnout, this doesn’t make any …show more content…

Without the help of my Dalhousie University holding election days, I would have been lost as to where to vote and who to vote for. I feel like in order for our electoral process to improve in Canada, we need to educate our youth much more on voting and politics in general. As well, I believe that we should make voting much more easy and accessible to our Canadian Citizens. If we were able to vote online, I believe we would see a huge boost in Voter participation, especially in our youth. Most people are very busy and don’t necessary have time to take out of their day to vote; if we were able to vote online there would be no excuses not to vote. Instead of political television ads attacking other party leaders and demoralizing their character, these ads should actually be put to good use and give our citizens an idea of their party and what they stand

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While researching and analyzing the topic of absolutism, which relates to the conflicts between Liberalism and Conservatism, the conflict arises from both ideologies adhering to their traditional doctrine and belief as well as an absence of flexibility by both sides. I gravitated towards researching different influences on political policy and analyzing these policies and political ideologies from a Stability and Change perspective. Beyond this, I was able to focus specifically on the causes of political Stability and Change within Canadian politics, chiefly federal. Canadian politics lacks the inflexibility highlighted traditional meaning of the word; this has enabled Canada to harass the best of both ideologies, beneficially affecting our society.

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We often assume that the reason behind the low voter turnout in the U.S. is due to institutional challenges (i.e. voter ID laws, registration, costs). Therefore, reformers most often focus on offering and improving various forms of convenience voting to increase turnout. Skeptics such as Graeme Orr argue that “voting whenever, from wherever, is a ‘lifestyle’ option.” Another skeptic, Adam J. Breinsky, argues that convenience voting has “perverse consequences on election reform” and that encouraging political engagement is more valuable than pursuing institutional changes. Although convenience voting offers flexibility and comfort, it is imperative not to overlook what Election Day is supposed to be: a communal event.

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In document D it says “Those who obsess about voter turnout are perhaps the ones to whom we should pay the least attention. The less legitimate politician feel, the more they try to pass laws that build around their regimes a Potemkin facade* of citizen involvement.” This quote shows that compulsory voting is bad because they are saying don’t focus on people who always vote, focus on the people who don’t and make them vote. The document shows how governments can force their citizens to vote and that governments need to earn the support of their citizens, this document could be used to argue that requiring citizens of a democracy to vote is a violation of consent of the government is

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Abi H. Civic Reflection Issue 1- Change in Point of View: In Canada, voter turnout has become a major issue; as there is a large amount of the population that does not vote in elections. Back in 2008, a total of 58% of the countries` population voted in the election. This is a startling low number, which since has begun to increase only slightly in recent years. In a democratic society, voting is essential for it to function with its full potential. Doing so enacts one of your basic responsibilities as a citizen, as well as shows that you are staying involved in your community and government.

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This unfamiliarity and thought of the process being confusing deters the younger people from registering to vote in the first place. By removing this process, voters can just show up to cast their votes and move on with their day without worrying about this potentially confusing process. These three methods combined could increase the voter turnout for each

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If someone has an issue or something that they feel should change then they can easily access their local elected person at their office and that person can help them with their problems and guide them through the steps they need to take to get it to the next level of government. Knowing that they have a voice in the government urges people to be more educated and up to date on issues that are happening in the country as well as the world. Each year we see an increase in the amount of people showing up to vote for their officials. Canada’s respect for legal, wealth, human and civil rights almost promises that this country has the potential to uphold a legitimate

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