TORONTO—Ontario voters get a chance next month to dump their first-past-the-post voting system in favor of proportional representation, in what would be Canada's first shift away from the system inherited from Britain more than a century ago.
Backers of the proposed mixed-member proportional system say it would be more representative. Opponents say it would cripple the government and empower fringe groups.
"It is intended to make the representation of parties more accurately reflective of the vote," said Bob Drummond, associate professor of political science at York University in Toronto.
Ontarians vote on the proposal in an October 10 referendum that coincides with a provincial election. It is not clear either who will win the election, or whether the referendum will pass.
"I don't think people have quite got their heads around what this might mean yet ... so my guess is that if you don't know much about it, you're likely to vote against it," Drummond said in an interview.
Political parties in Ontario have been asked not to take an official stance on the referendum question.
But leaders of major parties are split, with the right-leaning opposition leader stating he will vote against the mixed-member system, and leaders of smaller left-leaning parties promising to support it.
Premier Dalton McGuinty has not said how he will vote. His Liberals currently have 67 of the 103 seats in the legislature, but were elected with only 47 percent of the popular vote.
The main opposition Conservatives have 25 seats, the left-leaning New Democrats have 10, and the Greens have none, though polls give them just under 10 percent voter support.
"As soon as you have more than two parties, the Westminster (British) system is no longer functional," said Frank de Jong, leader of the Greens.
His and other small parties would likely benefit from the proposed mixed-member system, which would allow voters to select both a local candidate and a political party.
Parties with at least 3 percent support would win seats so that the make-up of the legislature roughly corresponds with the popular vote, in a system similar to that in Germany, New Zealand and Scotland.
Detractors say it is undemocratic to award seats to a list of candidates who are selected by their parties alone, and who are not accountable to an electoral district.
The Ontario referendum requires at least 60 percent support to be adopted. Voters in two other provinces rejected the idea of proportional representation in 2005.
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