Poll shows support for minority governments

Poll showing Canadians comfortable with minority government is no surprise because Canadians also support fair election results (January 7, 2007)

News reports this weekend that Canadians are now very comfortable with minority governments should come as no surprise, according to Fair Vote Canada (FVC).

A Canadian Press Harris/Decima survey asked respondents how they would like to allocate seats among the parties in a hypothetical Parliament of 100 seats. On average, respondents gave 36 seats to the Liberals, 31 seats to the Conservatives, 15 to the NDP, 10 to the Bloc and 8 to the Greens.

"Those percentages are very similar to the levels of public support for the parties. Polls are showing the percentage support for the two major parties in the mid to low 30s, with the other parties below 20 per cent," said Stephen Broscoe, FVC president.

"For many years, polls have shown a strong majority of Canadians believe that the portion of seats a party wins should reflect the portion of the votes they receive, which is what we see respondents doing intuitively with this hypothetical parliament," Broscoe noted. "The basic democratic principle of voter equality is deeply engrained in our political culture. Canadians don't understand why a party with only 40 per cent of the votes can capture 60 per cent of the seats and 100 per cent of the power. That's why respondents in this poll were not handing a majority of seats to any party, because none deserve majority control."

Broscoe also said recent electoral reform referendum results have been misread by some commentators, who wrongly conclude Canadians have shown no interest in adopting fair and proportional voting systems.

"In recent days, I have read yet another reference in a respected major daily that British Columbians 'rejected' a proportional voting system in the 2005 referendum when, in fact, nearly 58 per cent voted in favour. If a party received that level of support, the headline would have read 'landslide'," Broscoe noted. "Likewise, I have read that the recent Ontario referendum indicates that Ontarians rejected electoral reform, rather than one specific alternative during a campaign widely criticized for very poor public education on that alternative."

Canadians not only support reform, they are ready for a federal electoral reform process.

"Some of our political leaders are now talking about a referendum on the future of the Senate," said Larry Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada. "Last fall, a poll for The Hill Times showed half of Canadians also support holding a national referendum on proportional representation. It remains to be seen how much more evidence our federal political leaders need before they put electoral reform on the front burner in Ottawa."