When Sincere
Preferences Give Way to Strategic Voting
by Brian Gibb
Executive Director
Regional Association of West Quebecers
During the first week of the current federal general election campaign, the problems with our current voting system were driving the headlines. Prime Minister Paul Martin stated that the elections in Quebec had taken on a referendum quality, while Buzz Hargrove, president of the CAW, advised potential NDP supporters to vote for the Liberal candidate in their riding if the NDP candidate had little chance of winning, in order to prevent the Conservative candidate from taking the seat.
In both instances, voters were being encouraged to abandon their sincere voting preferences and to vote strategically. The reason for doing so is quite obvious for anyone familiar with our first-past-the-post voting system. In this archaic electoral method, the winner takes all. Only the votes that are necessary to declare the winning candidate elected are needed. All of the other votes might as well be dumped into the garbage bin since they are not used to determine who will be sitting in Parliament.
Certainly, Buzz Hargrove was shooting from the hip. His advice was straight to the point and aimed at his fellow union members who frequently vote for the NDP: don’t waste your vote, make it count and if it won’t count by voting NDP in your riding, make it count by preventing the seat from going to the Conservatives.
In Paul Martin’s case, the argument is more subtle. Essentially, he would like the general election to be viewed by the federalists in Quebec as a referendum so they would use their votes to prevent the Bloc Quebecois candidates from getting elected. Given that the other federalist parties are not in a position to win a plurality in any of the Quebec ridings, Martin’s advice is for federalists to opt for the only party that can stop the Bloc, the PLC. What is a Gomery-induced, angst-ridden Anglo to do?
In my opinion, it’s time to put the first-past-the-post method to rest. It’s time that everyone’s vote counted regardless of where you live and for whom you vote. Unfortunately, we can’t change the voting system so that the representation in the next Parliament will be based on the results of all the votes counting equally. However, all is not lost.
The Quebec government has tabled draft legislation to change the voting system in Quebec and a commission has been struck to consult the public in regard to the new model that has been proposed. In fact, the commission will be holding public audiences on Feb. 2, 2006 in Gatineau. If you have ever felt that voting is a waste of time because you believed your vote didn’t make a difference, now is the time to get involved.
Keep in mind that the deadline to submit a written brief is December 20, 2005. However, if the hustle and bustle of the festive season prevents you from finding the time to submit a full-length brief, you can still express your opinion in an electronic consultation form and, if you want, you can reserve time to address the commission directly in person by simply clicking on the box below the consultation form.
To find all the information you need to get involved, go to the Regional Association of West Quebecers’ website, www.westquebecers.com; there you will find an example of a submission as well as the consultation form.