On September 20th 2021, Justin Trudeau won 158 seats in the Canadian House of Commons. With approximately 47 percent of the available seats the Liberal party will maintain a minority government. Trudeau won the most seats but finished in second place in the popular vote, winning just 32.6% of votes cast. This finish in the popular vote is the lowest ever for a party which will form the government in Canadian history, a feat that was previously held by the liberals only 2 years ago in the 2019 election.
Around 67 percent of the country has voted against Prime Minister Trudeau who after the election declared Canadians had given him a “clear mandate” to carry on his agenda. Trudeau owes his win to something he promised to change during his first victory in 2015. ‘The First Past The Post’(FPTP) electoral system. FPTP or winner takes all has been lamented by the public for many decades in Canada. Detractors of this winner takes all system criticize the distribution of votes in relation to the seat count over something like proportional representation, a system which is used in most western democracies around the world.
See attached video for a description of the system at
In 2015 Justin Trudeau promised to “make every vote count” however since holding the majority of seats in 2015, and now two subsequent minority governments the issue of electoral reform has faded away from his party platform. Simply put, the system benefits the two major parties. The Liberal Government as well as their main rivals in the Conservative party. First Past The Post eventually leads to a two party system with third parties usually playing spoiler at best. This is why no other party has ever formed the national government besides the Liberals or Conservatives. At the end of the 2021 election campaign both Justin Trudeau and Erin O’Toole appealed to voters that they were the only option in defeating each other. Criticizing people who voted NDP, PPC or Green as helping the party most ideologically opposed to them. Emphasis on strategic voting or the party with the most efficient distribution starts to dominate the campaign in the last few days to bring voters back into the ballet fold of the two parties.
What this system has caused is people voting for the lesser of the two evils instead of choosing the party that really speaks to their specific views. In Canada, this system has led to a great divide in the populace, a feeling of alienation from the government and now record low voter turnouts. The largest voting block in Canada is in fact the 11 million people who choose not to vote entirely. These are major problems and can lead to extremism and violence in the long term. Without healthy democratic outlets some people who feel like they have no say will start taking drastic actions to feel heard. This has already started to bubble up in Canada and is seen even more in our FPTP cousins in Britain and the United States.
It is known that 67 percent of the country did not vote for Justin Trudeau, and will now see him deciding their fate for the coming years. Next election, Canadians should strategically vote for the person that allows them to vote sincerely and not strategically in the future. A leader who will keep his/her promise to “make every vote count”.
