Letter: Proportional representation gives all voters a voice

Re: Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle’s July 22 column “MP supports voting reform.”

In 2011, the votes of seven million Canadian voters elected no one. With just one winner in each riding, half of Canadian voters don’t actually elect anyone, and our Parliaments and legislatures don’t actually look anything like us.

When elections are more proportional, such coalitions generally involve more than one party. While Canadians have been taught to fear this, it actually has a few enormous advantages.

Negotiations among parties are generally much more visible to the public than those that currently take place within parties, and the compromises are publicly known. When elections are more proportional, the resulting coalition or governing group represents a true majority of voters.

Since 2001, polls have repeatedly shown a strong majority of Canadians (around 70 per cent) believe the portion of seats a party wins in the House of Commons should reflect the portion of the votes they receive.

I for one stand with (Nickel Belt MP) Claude Gravelle in trying to fix our broken political system.

Don Currie
Sudbury