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Here are seven takeaways from last week’s Ontario provincial election:
1. This was a totally unnecessary and pointless election. Although it gave the Ontario Liberal Party “party status,” it otherwise resulted in the status quo — a Progressive Conservative majority government and the NDP once again as official Opposition. Ford’s goal to seek a “massive majority” was not realized. The $189 million it cost to run this election can be seen as yet another example of wasteful spending from this government.
2. Calling this election in the month of February — especially this winter — was an insult to the voters. The low turnout was predictable — and the premier and his party knew it. Calling it anyway indicates contempt for the Ontario voter — particularly those in rural areas like ours.
3. Ontarians are losing interest in our elections. The official turnout was 45.4 per cent of the eligible voters in the province. The 2022 turnout was 44 per cent. Just five million voters out of the 11 million eligible to vote actually cast a ballot last week. Shouldn’t this lack of interest raise serious questions about the health of our democracy here in Ontario, Canada? Shouldn’t media and governments themselves be concerned about citizens deciding they just don’t feel that voting makes sense anymore?
4. A comparison of votes for each party and the number of seats they result in again reveals the absurdity of our electoral system. The Progressive Conservatives get 42.7 per cent of the votes and win 80 seats in the legislature (65 per cent). The NDP gets 18.55 per cent of votes cast and wins 27 seats in the legislature (22 per cent). The Liberals are supported by 29.95 per cent of voters, yet win just 14 seats in the legislature (11.3 per cent). The Green party is supported by five per cent of voters and wins just two seats (1.6 per cent). What makes sense in these results? Anything at all?
5. The low voter turnout makes a farce out of an election that results in a so-called “majority government.” If only 45.5 per cent of voters actually voted, and the Progressive Conservatives won 42.7 per cent of those votes, this “majority government” resulted from the choices of only 19.4 per cent of eligible voters (42.7 per cent of 45.4 per cent). Of all of the voters eligible to vote in this province, fewer than one in five turned out to vote for Ford’s Progressive Conservatives. Yet Ford can claim 80 seats in the legislature and 100 per cent of the power. Does this make sense?
6. If over 57 per cent of those who voted chose a party other than the Progressive Conservatives, once again, the idea of Ford having won a “majority government” is farcical. When more people vote against a party than voted for it, can that government legitimately call itself a “majority government” or, conversely, a “government of the people?”
And finally:
7. The voters didn’t give the Progressive Conservatives a majority government. Our first-past-the-post electoral system did. It’s time for a change to a fairer electoral system. We are holding 21st-century elections with a 19th-century system designed to work in a two-party society. Citizens who care about our democracy should be supporting Fair Vote Canada’s call for a citizens’ assembly to determine how Canada’s democracy can be improved. Getting rid of our first-past-the-post system would be a good start.
Note: A December 2022 EKOS poll shows “76 per cent of Canadians — including a strong majority of supporters of all parties — back a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.” (fairvote.ca)
Fred Larsen
Oro-Medonte Township
