This and how hard it would be to ever amend the constitution (y’know, to move away from FPTP, for example) are the biggest problems for Canadian democracy going forwards.
It won’t sink us in the next 10 years, but past that who knows. History has a way of turning heroes into villains, and vice-verse.
Except the Constitution doesn’t stipulate FPTP. It defines how seats are allocated based on population and provinces and all but doesn’t say how to decide what MPs go in what seats. It doesn’t mention parties either.
What? Really? I guess it’s in the Elections Act, then.
Yup, checks out. There’s certain ridings and they all have to produce one member, but it doesn’t say how. Wonders of living in a country that wasn’t really a democracy originally, I guess. One member representing each riding limits options quite a bit, but there are proportional systems that could be made to work that way.
It doesn’t mention parties either.
Which isn’t necessarily unusual. It wasn’t a designed part of the US system, for example - if anything it undercuts the original intention of the system. Proportional systems have to recognise them at least a bit, though.
This and how hard it would be to ever amend the constitution (y’know, to move away from FPTP, for example) are the biggest problems for Canadian democracy going forwards.
It won’t sink us in the next 10 years, but past that who knows. History has a way of turning heroes into villains, and vice-verse.
Except the Constitution doesn’t stipulate FPTP. It defines how seats are allocated based on population and provinces and all but doesn’t say how to decide what MPs go in what seats. It doesn’t mention parties either.
What? Really? I guess it’s in the Elections Act, then.
Yup, checks out. There’s certain ridings and they all have to produce one member, but it doesn’t say how. Wonders of living in a country that wasn’t really a democracy originally, I guess. One member representing each riding limits options quite a bit, but there are proportional systems that could be made to work that way.
Which isn’t necessarily unusual. It wasn’t a designed part of the US system, for example - if anything it undercuts the original intention of the system. Proportional systems have to recognise them at least a bit, though.
Every time the constitution is on the table the country nearly implodes.
Will all the provinces agree on a new constitution this time? It only led to two referendum the few last times we tried.