Welcome to the fourth installment of Lego My Vote!

Last night's results remind us that all major parties eventually benefit from First Past the Post  - which is precisely why none of them have ever changed it!

In recent years, the Liberals (provincially across Canada) and the Conservatives (federally) have consistently won fake majorities.  And in two recent elections (New Brunswick and PEI), the NDP won ZERO seats despite earning 13% and 11% of the vote respectively.

Last night, the tables were turned and the NDP won a "majority" of the seats, with only 41% of the vote.

Once again, voters are stuck with a party that the vast majority didn't vote for.  The NDP ran a great campaign, and they deserve to win, but they did not earn a majority.

And in a strange twist, the Wildrose Party become the Official Opposition (ie: 2nd place) - even though the Conservatives got fifty thousand more votes than Wildrose!

Here's how it went down:

There are 87 seats in the Alberta legislature.  Proportionally, this is how it would have played out:

Without a majority, parties would have had to work together, to pass legislation that reflects a majority of the voters.  This requires compromise and collaboration, two traits that are sadly absent in our modern political culture.

But no worries. The NDP won't have to collaborate with anyone. Because our medieval voting system transformed 41% of the vote, into 61% of the seats!




(sorry, that's a really tall jpeg for this page, but that's what happens when one party unfairly wins all the seats...)

Here is how each party benefited, or not, from First Past the Post:

Most western democracies use some form of Proportional Representation. That means that the government elected actually reflects what voters asked for. If 28% vote conservative, then 28% of the seats are conservative. Simple as that.

It's not about left, or right.  It's about fairness and it's about transforming a system that currently feeds our collective cynicism about politics.

Canadians deserve a fair voting system. Please share this page, and join our campaign!

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