A new electoral system that Ontario will consider in a referendum this fall would "improve all politics," says Green Party Leader Frank De Jong — and could also help elect the first MPPs in party history.
"It will make politics more collegial," said De Jong, who strongly endorses the mixed member proportional system (MMP).
But he also acknowledged that it could catapult his party, which has never won a seat, squarely into the legislature.
"If we had MMP now and the Green Party got 10 per cent of the vote, we'd have 12 or 13 MPPs … so that's obviously very attractive to us," he said.
Alongside a vote for their preferred local candidate during the provincial election on Oct. 10, citizens will cast a ballot stating whether they prefer the existing first-past-the-post voting system or MMP.
In first-past-the-post, which Ontario residents have used for 215 years, each voter casts a vote for a local candidate, and each political party gets a seat for each local riding where one of their candidates has won the most votes. That works against smaller parties, which may win double-digit percentages of the popular vote while still lagging the other parties in any given riding.
Under MMP, each voter would cast two votes — one for their local candidate and one for the party they think best represents their interests.
Entitled to seats
All parties that win at least three per cent of the party vote would be entitled to seats in the legislature — even if none of their local candidates wins.
Under MMP, the legislature would grow by 22 seats, and the number of seats held by each party would be proportional to their share of the party votes.
Steve Withers, a spokesman for the "Yes to MMP" campaign, said that means even people who vote for a party that doesn't win in their riding will have a representative of their interests in the legislature.
"It gives every voter a vote of equal value that contributes towards representation for the party that they prefer," he said "so they can cast a sincere vote for the people or the party that they want and know that they will elect someone."
Those opposed to MMP — such as Michael Ufford, chair of the "No MMP" campaign — don't like the idea that party votes elect candidates from ordered lists provided by each party, even if the lists are publicly available to voters.
Those candidates aren't tied to a particular riding, and that's a bad idea, Ufford says.
"We think that's basically the opposite way power should flow in the province," he said. "Power should flow from the ridings to Queen's Park — not Queen's Park down to the ridings."
Despite Ufford's arguments, NDP Leader Howard Hampton has joined his Green Party counterpart in endorsing MMP.
Both Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty and Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory say they are neutral on the issue.
MMP is the system endorsed by a citizens' assembly on electoral reform appointed by the Ontario government. In April, the province passed legislation requiring the province to hold a referendum if the assembly recommended a system different from the current one.
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- CBC IN DEPTH: Ontario referendum - electoral reform or not?
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- Duncan says he'll vote no on proportional representation
- Debate heats up before Ont. referendum on electoral changes
- Ontario voters to decide on electoral reform
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Ontario Votes 2007 »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
District Profiles
More Ontario Votes Headlines »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
