Ontario electoral reform referendum, 2007
| Ontario electoral reform referendum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature? / Quel système électoral l’Ontario devrait-il utiliser pour élire les députés provinciaux à l’Assemblée législative? | ||||
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| Results | ||||
| Referendum held: October 10, 2007 | ||||
An Ontario electoral reform referendum was held on October 10, 2007, in an attempt to establish a mixed member proportional representation (MMP) system for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. However, the resulting vote was strongly in favour of the existing plurality voting or "first-past-the-post" (FPTP) system.
Currently, Ontario elects Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) using the single member plurality, or so-called "first past the post" (FPTP), system. In this system, each voter gives one vote to a candidate in an electoral district; the candidate with the most votes wins and is charged with representing all voters in the electoral district, except as limited by principles of party control. In most cases, the party with the most elected candidates is asked to form a government.
The initiative to reform this system was first proposed by the Liberal Party opposition leader of the time, Dalton McGuinty in 2001. The impetus for the proposal was at least in part the experience of the province with two successive majority governments elected with less than 50% of the popular vote, the NDP from 1990-95 under Bob Rae (elected in 1990 with only 38% of the popular vote), and the Conservatives from 1995-2003 under Mike Harris (elected in 1995 with 45% of the vote). When the Harris government enacted sweeping changes in public services, a feeling developed that both of these governments lacked a sufficient democratic mandate to justify the extent of such changes (Leduc, 2008: 5). The Liberals won a majority of their own in October 2003 with 45% of the vote.
On 18 November 2004, Premier McGuinty announced that a citizens’ assembly would be established to examine the FPTP electoral system and recommend possible changes to be voted upon by referendum in the next provincial election. Enabling legislation to implement these measures —the Election Amendment Act, 2005— received Royal Assent on 13 June 2005. It included provisions for Elections Ontario to select volunteers for a Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. An all-party Committee on Electoral Reform was also created to consider and report on options for electoral reform. Its report was submitted in November 2005. It included a number of recommendations and defined the Citizen's Assembly's mandate.
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