Economies across North America are supposedly doing well, yet lots of people are still feeling the pinch. Many Americans and Canadians are part of a trend of widening inequality. It might not be intuitive, but updating their electoral method could help. Countries that use proportional representation (ProRep) have less inequality and more equality-enhancing policies compared … Read more
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the other night. Ardern is notable in many ways. As Colbert pointed out, she’s the second-youngest leader of New Zealand—at 37, she’s also the youngest elected woman leader in the world today. She’s one of the world’s 10 women heads of … Read more
BC voters, especially in the suburbs, just threw some wrenches into their legendary transit-oriented growth machine.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbian voters will soon choose between two voting systems. Proportional Representation (ProRep), is a common form of voting in prosperous countries around the world. The main tenet is to give each group of voters fair representation in the legislature—the party balance in the legislature ends up looking like the … Read more
Polling snapshot: US voters hungry for solutions they’ve likely never heard of
The politicians opposing British Columbia’s upcoming electoral reform measure are trying to frighten voters by telling them Proportional Representation (ProRep) makes ridings too big and breaks the local representation and accountability between voters and lawmakers. But the three ProRep options BC voters will see on their mail-in ballot weren’t just picked from a hat. And … Read more
In October 2018, BC voters will get a ballot asking them to choose between First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (ProRep) voting methods. For some voters, this may be a new idea but it is one BC has considered for a long time. As early as the 1890s, voters were calling for ProRep. Voters usually become … Read more
In October, British Columbian voters will receive ballots asking them two questions. First, should BC use First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) voting or proportional representation (ProRep)? Second, if the province chooses ProRep, which of three systems do voters prefer: Dual Member Proportional, Mixed Member Proportional, or Rural-Urban PR? All three ProRep options follow a few ground rules: each … Read more
Canada’s west-coast metropolis swiftly and decisively ends single-family zoning; will others follow?
This year, Doug Ford, whose brand of right-wing populism has drawn comparison to US president Donald Trump, took control of the Ontario government. Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party took majority control of the government with a minority of the votes because Ontario, like British Columbia and other places in Canada and the United States, uses a … Read more