Party election platforms on electoral reform

NDP PLATFORM:

Putting an end to unfair elections

“We will fix Canada’s broken voting system and make every vote count. For too long, our electoral system has distorted results and denied millions of Canadians real representation. In 2025, New Democrats will make sure it’s the last election held under this outdated, unfair system—ten years after the Liberals promised change and failed to act.”

“Unlike the Liberals, we will actually deliver. We will establish an independent citizens assembly to advise on how best to put in place a Mixed-Member proportional system in time for the next federal election. This will ensure that the next Parliament truly reflects the choices of voters.”

Fair Vote Canada’s comment on the NDP platform: Fair Vote Canada appreciates the NDP’s long standing support of their preferred proportional system, MMP. During the English leader’s debate, the following question was asked of Jagmeet Singh:

Steve Paikin: “If you hold the balance of power after this election, what would your price be to support another party?”

Jagmeet Singh: “We’ve laid out our priorities. We want to make sure we bring down the cost of groceries, build homes people can afford. I can also tell you that we would defend CBC, unlike Mr. Poilievre that would cut it, and we would close tax loopholes and offshore tax havens even though Mr. Carney didn’t respond to that.”

GREEN PARTY:

The plan on the front of the Green Party website states:

Strong Democracy

Making Sure Your Vote Counts

“Too many Canadians feel their votes don’t matter. They don’t trust the government to listen. Big corporations have too much power. False information spreads too easily. Our voting system is outdated. The Green Party will fix these problems. We’ll make sure every Canadian voter has a real voice in our democracy.”

A Voting System That Works

“Our current voting system isn’t fair. A party can win total power with less than half the votes. Millions of votes don’t count. Here’s how we’ll make it fairer:”

• Change to a proportional representation voting system where every vote counts
• Let young people start voting at age 16
• Restore the per-vote subsidy so small parties can compete fairly with big parties
• Create a Citizens’ Assembly to help guide these changes

Fair Vote Canada’s comment on the Green Party’s platform: This platform represents a strong commitment to proportional representation with a role for a non-partisan Citizens’ Assembly to make recommendations. Fair Vote Canada strongly supports this plan.

LIBERAL PARTY:

There is nothing in the Liberal platform about proportional representation and electoral reform.

Fair Vote Canada’s comment on the Liberal platform: This is deeply disappointing, considering that the Liberal Party is under new leadership. The overwhelming majority of Canadians support proportional representation and believe the Liberals were wrong to break their promise.

Proportional representation happens around the world when parties are willing to compromise and work together to make it happen. A non-partisan citizens’ assembly on electoral reform, an idea which was backed by Liberal Party members at their 2023 convention, is a way to offer feedback to Parliament on the best system to make every vote count.

The Liberal Party’s 2025 platform states they will:

“Build a Canada where everyone has a fair shot, feels a sense of belonging, and contributes to our shared future by reshaping systems to better reflect and support all Canadians and make sure that no matter your heritage or identity you can fully participate in Canada.”**

The way to do this is with proportional representation, so that no matter where you live, your vote will count and will contribute to our shared future.

BLOC:

There is nothing in the Bloc platform about proportional representation.

CONSERVATIVE:

There is nothing in the Conservative platform about proportional representation.