October 17, 2011
Mowat research suggests compromise legislation to restore rep-by-pop in Canada.
Toronto – Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Mowat Centre have released a new study outlining the reasons why Canada now deviates so egregiously from the principle of representation by population (rep-by-pop) – and what should be done about it.
“Representation by population was one of the principal forces behind the creation of Canada and is a key pillar of democracy. Canadians in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are increasingly under-represented in the House of Commons” says Matthew Mendelsohn, Director of the Mowat Centre and one of the report’s co-authors.
Currently, Canada’s federal electoral districts deviate from rep-by-pop more than ever before and Canada is increasingly an international outlier. The situation, according to the study, is getting worse and will continue to deteriorate unless there is fundamental reform.
“It is increasingly Canadians of non-European background, living in the suburbs around our largest cities that are under-represented. This is clearly untenable” says Law Professor Sujit Choudhry, the study’s co-author.
The proposal sketched out in the Mowat study would protect the seat shares (and over-representation) in the four Atlantic Canadian provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and also ensure that Quebec’s share of seats in the House of Commons is equal to its share of the Canadian population.
“There are a variety of constitutional and legislative rules that make it virtually impossible that we will ever get to rep-by-pop for Canadians in Ontario, Alberta and BC. But we can get much closer, while still offering some protection for Canadians in the six over-represented smaller provinces and to Quebec. Our proposal is very much a Canadian compromise,” says Mendelsohn.
The study also proposes that the allowable deviations in the size of ridings fall from +/- 25% to 5 or 10%.
“Once we move forward towards rebalancing the number of seats between provinces, we must also begin the process of rebalancing the distribution of seats within provinces,” says Choudhry.
“Otherwise, our commitment to rep-by-pop will still be a far way from being fulfilled, particularly for suburban multicultural Canada,” he adds.
Read the full report
