OK. Canadian Civics 101:
Canada has 338 ridings (or electoral zones). Each riding has its own election to determine who will represent the constituents of that riding in Ottawa.
Canada has 338 ridings (or electoral zones). Each riding has its own election to determine who will represent the constituents of that riding in Ottawa.
In his interview with CTV News' Lisa LaFlamme, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says party with most seats should have 'right' to form government election.ctvnews.ca/scheer-says-pa… #elxn43
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Candidates in each riding campaign to be elected. Most of these candidates are affiliated with one of the official Canadian political parties. Some run as independents and some belong to smaller parties with no official status.
When we have an election, people in each riding vote for the candidate of their choice in their own riding. They do not vote for Prime Minister. At the end of the election, each riding sends one Member of Parliament (MP) to Ottawa.
If any one party comes out of the election with a majority of seats, 170 or more ridings, the leader of that party becomes Prime Minister and their party forms government. The party with the next highest number of seats becomes the Official Opposition.
However, if no party has 170 candidates elected, it is a bit more complicated. Pay attention. This next bit is important.
In a situation where no party crosses the threshold for a majority government, the incumbent Prime Minister has the right to recall Parliament and present a speech from the throne. The Throne Speech outlines objectives for the coming Parliamentary session.
It is then up to all the MPs in the House, from all the parties, to vote on the Throne Speech. If they would prefer the incumbent to continue as PM, they vote in favour of the Throne Speech. If they want a change of government, they vote against it.
This is called having "the confidence of the House", or not having it, if the throne speech is voted down. As long as a PM can retain the confidence of the House, they remain on as PM.
Now, some of you are flailing around saying, "Wait! No! If my party gets 139 seats and the previous government party gets 136 seats, MY party should become government!" This is what Andrew Scheer is saying in the interview above.
However, that is not how it works, and I will tell you why the way it works is more fair. There are 338 ridings. If a party with 139 were to automatically take power, they are representing only 41% of voters. The way it works in a Westminster parliamentary system is...
the other 59% of voters also get a say in who will be governing. To win the confidence of the House, the incumbent PM needs to win the support of the remaining 63 MPs who are not part of either of the two leading parties.
This can take the form of an ad hoc coalition, where the 63 MPs may vote with or against the government depending on the issue. Or it may take the form of a formal coalition. This would be a more organised combining of two or more parties.
Ad hoc coalitions are far more common in Canadian politics. Indeed, we haven't had a formal coalition federal government since WWI. There have, however, been provincial coalition governments. There is one now in BC.
Formal coalition governments are not uncommon in other parts of the world. Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isreal, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, and the UK all have a history of coalition governments.
In 2008-2009 the Liberals and NDP were set to form a coalition to remove confidence of the House from Harper's CPC. Harper denounced the coalition and attempted to demonise the very idea of coalitions.
Harper called the coalition "illegitimate" , despite the fact that coalitions are perfectly legitimate. Harper's finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, called it a "deal with the devil". The CPC set out to convince Canadians that coalitions are wrong and immoral, despite...
coalitions being the normal course of governing for many European nations. Harper eventually prorogued Parliament to avoid a non-confidence vote. And made several concessions to try to de-escalate the situation.
As a former Speaker of the House, Andrew Scheer is certainly aware that our constitution and Parliamentary traditions allow for coalition governments. In a minority situation, a coalition forming government is not a "coup" or a mutiny. It is a legitimate structure that...
can allow more ridings to be represented in government than would be represented by the party that actually won the most votes. Postmedia is, predictably, trying to convince people ahead of time of something that is false.
The Sun editorial calls a coalition government a "coup", just as Harper did 11 years ago. They say it isn't the "Canadian way", whatever that is. It actually is, but they are going to try to misinform the public.
Why would they want to do this? No one wants to play with the CPC. No one will back them, or so it seems at the moment. Perhaps the Bloc? But how would that look after Harper accusing the LPC and NDP of conspiring with separatists in 2008?
The Greens? They might be able to offer 4 seats, maybe. That is the most recent projection I have seen. The point is that a majority of Canadians do not seem to want a CPC government.
If the LPC, NDP, and others, can work together to govern the country from the progressive side, it would actually be far more representative of Canadians' wishes than having a CPC government supported by about a third of Canadians.
Anyway, that is how it works. For another, lengthier explanation, with graphics:
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