PSCI 2003 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Byrsonima Crassifolia, Asian Canadians, Tactical Voting

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: PSCI 2003
• Professor: J Malloy

Document Summary

Elections and the electoral system: given the peculiar distribution of the canadian population, to what extent should we adhere to the principle of representation by population? . Canadian electoral system does not fare so well in terms of proportionality. It does not award seats in proportion to a party"s popular vote, and many critics advocate a more proportional system. The constitution act, 1867 requires that the readjustment process be repeated after each decennial census for e. g. 2001 and 2011. Given the federal character of canada, with its strong provincial and territorial loyalties, the search for a fair means of distributing seats in the house of commons among the provinces and territories has been a long and unsatisfactory one. After 2011, the new system actually represent-ed a constitutional amendment because it not only added seats to the commons, but also changed the formula involved.