Elections and the Electoral System

Question 1

Federally, in Canada, how do we elect the House of Commons?

Answer 1

Using the SMD-plurality system.

Question 2

How is the Prime Minister elected?

Answer 2

Not elected during the federal election, but is elected by the members of his/her party at a leadership convention.

Question 3

What is a major difference between the political systems in Canada and the United States?

Answer 3

Which officials elected, and which are appointed.

Question 4

What positions are elected in the United States? Ones that are appointed in Canada.

Answer 4

Police, district attorneys, judges, sheriffs, house of representatives, the senate, and the president.

Question 5

How are Supreme Court Justices elected?

Answer 5

They are appointed by the Prime Minister.

Question 6

Worldwide, what are the two common electoral systems?

Answer 6

The SMD-plurality system, and proportional representation (PR).

Question 7

How does the SMD-plurality system work?

Answer 7

• Entire nation is divided into electoral districts, which equals one seat in legislature
• Voters vote for the single member to represent their district
• Whoever wins the most votes wins the seat, they don’t need to win a majority.

Question 8

What is another named for the SMD-Plurality system?

Answer 8

First Past the Post System

Question 9

What are advantages to the SMD-Plurality system?

Answer 9

1. Because representatives are tied to a specific district, they develop a strong attachment to their district.
2. In this system, it is much easier for a single party to control the government, which makes a more stable government.

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of the SMD-Plurality system?

Answer 10

1. The system tends to promote tyranny of the majority

2. Creates a two party system - voters don’t want to waste a vote, so they vote to make a party win.

Question 11

What is a proportional representation (PR) system?

Answer 11

Citizens vote for a party, not a person. Then the party is given a number of seats equaling their percentage of the vote. In otherwise, if a party wins 44% of the vote, they are given 44% of the seats.

Question 12

How are the seats given to candidates in a PR system?

Answer 12

Prior to the election, they submit a list of candidates. If a party wins 30 seats, then the first 30 candidates on the list are the representatives.

Question 13

What are the advantages to a PR system?

Answer 13

1. Every vote counts, and can influence the government

2. It gives small parties a voice and better represents minorities

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of the PR system?

Answer 14

1. Makes it hard for a government to win outright (majority) - thus it makes government more unstable.
2. It gives influence to small extreme parties that normally wouldn’t gain any respectability

Question 15

How do parties elect their leaders?

Answer 15

It is different for each party.

Question 16

How do the NDP elect their leaders?

Answer 16

One member, one vote system. The person who gets the majority of votes gets elected as the leader. If no one wins the majority, they go through rounds until one is picked.

Question 17

How do the liberals and conservatives elect their leader?

Answer 17

Each member within his/her own riding association (electoral districts), and each member can vote. The votes are then calculated as a percentage of total votes in the riding. Each riding has 100 points, which is divided up by the percentage of votes each candidate gets. All the points are added, and the winner is the candidate who gets more than 15,401 points.

Question 18

How many electoral districts does Canada have?

Answer 18

308