A vote for PR is a vote for democracy
“THE CASE FOR [proportional representation] is fundamentally the same as that for representative democracy. Only if an assembly represents the full diversity of opinion within a nation can its decisions be regarded as the decisions of the nation itself.” — Encyclopedia Britannica
We support Proportional Representation because we support democracy. Most voters probably have a pretty down-to-earth idea of what democracy means: a government elected by a majority of the people, that reflects the values and wishes of the people.
It is a disturbing fact that our present system, First-Past-the-Post, doesn’t do this. For example, in three recent elections in BC (2005, 2009, and 2013), the Liberals won a majority of MLAs (58 per cent) with a minority of the votes (44 per cent to 46 per cent). No wonder they want to keep First-Past-the-Post! In 1996, the NDP got fewer votes than the Liberals (only 39 per cent) but won more seats (52 per cent of MLAs). How are such outcomes desirable in a democracy? With proprotional representation, a party that wins 39 per cent of the vote would win 39 per cent of the seats. In contrast, our current system allows minorities to win elections. That’s just wrong. First-Past-the-Post needs to be replaced.
This peculiarity of First-Past-the-Post – that minorities can win 100 per cent of the power – makes us vulnerable to ‘takeovers’ by extreme groups. Doug Ford, who received only 40 per cent of the vote in Ontario, is now attacking the judiciary and precipitating a constitutional crisis. And Donald Trump won the US election despite reciving three million fewer votes than his opponent. First-Past-the-Post is dangerous.