The Election Process

Why do we have elections so often?! 1. it makes the government accountable to the people 2. provides opportunities for the people to voice their needs and choose their government

Canada’s Electoral system Canada is divided into over 338 ridings # of ridings is based on population Federal elections must be called every 4 years by law How do we decide on when to have an election? 1. Prime Minister advises the Governor General to dissolve the House of Commons and calls an election 2. If the government is defeated in a vote of non-confidence 3. The 4 year term is up!

Role of the Media Major players Present candidate in the best light Millions spent (travel, advertising) Ads also cast negative images or impressions of their opponents Ex: 1993, Kim Campbell (PM, PC) emphasized Jean Chretien’s speech disability

A few video campaigns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrcqXZNHJLY&index=2&list=PLSQ2-76WsPuGl9byCCPqPcKqVFIDbBoV_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gS2k5aqe1Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmmSV1jtK3s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdFxaKNd6xc

Election Day Leaders maintain high profile Advance polls: allows people to vote who might not vote otherwise (ex. Will be out of town, in hospital, etc.) Media in Canada is not allowed to advertise until the voting is over!!! Can influence decisions Ex: 2004 Internet shared decisions long before the West had finished casting their ballots

Polls Located at churches, schools, legions etc… Right and Responsibility as a citizen Once at polling station: directed to a table to check the voters list Must be: 18 Canadian Citizen On Voter’s List – most ppl are on it when they turn 18 and file their income tax return.

Counting Ballots: Majority In order to win a riding, a candidate does not need to receive a clear majority (50% + 1) of the votes. P.C. 200 (majority) Liberal 50 NDP 51 the candidate only needs to receive a relative majority (also called a plurality majority), meaning that she/he received more votes than any other candidate in the riding district. 101

Majority gov’t continued: This means that even if all the opposition parties voted against the government, it will still be able to pass legislation Often lasts for the full term.

Counting Ballots: Minority Party elects more members to Parliament than any other, BUT not more than all the other parties added together P.C 150 (majority of seats) Liberal 75 NDP 76 151

Minority gov’t continued Leader of party goes to the Governor General for permission to form a government If GG agrees, the leader becomes PM and forms a cabinet Then government goes to the House of Commons and seeks a vote of confidence Usually governing party meets with the opposition leaders and tries to make an agreement for their support by offering to include some of their ideas in government legislation

When a proposed bill receives less than a majority of votes in the House of Commons, defeating the government and forcing it to resign.

If the government does not get a vote of confidence: GG has 2 options: Calls the leader with the 2nd largest seats to attempt to form a government OR A new election

Video: the difference between minority and majority provincial gov’ts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G_ro-EhW4c

Counting Ballots: Coalition Coalition Government: when no party has a majority in Parliament… then 2 or more parties can join together to form a government P.C. 10 Liberal 20 NDP 20

Examples of these types of governments in Canadian History Majority Governments: Sir John A Macdonald in 1867 Trudeau in 1974 Brian Mulroney in 1988 Jean Chretien in 1993, 1997, and 2000!! Stephen Harper in 2011 Minority: Sir John A Macdonald 1882 Mackenzie King in 1921, 1925 and again in 1945 John Diefenbaker 1957 Lester Pearson in 1963 again in 1965 Pierre Trudeau in 1972 Joe Clark in 1974 Paul Martin in 2004 Stephen Harper in 2006 again in 2008 Coalition: The Great Coalition (1864-1867) The Union Government (1917-20)

One Vote Matters “Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why vote?! The right to vote is one of the cornerstones of a modern democratic government. It is seen by many political scientists as the. single most important element of a democracy The reason for the importance of the vote is to provide citizens with the opportunity to choose their own government.

Why aren’t Canadians voting?? As reported by Elections Canada, voter turnout among Canadians is at an all time low. concerned about the low rates of young voter turnout Occasionally, citizens can develop an apathetic (lacking interest or concern; indifferent) approach. The sense that in a society of millions of people, a single vote has little or no meaning. Consider this however - in the United States (a nation of well over 300 million people), during the 2000 federal election, the Presidency was decided by a mere 537 votes in the state of Florida, resulting in the election of George W. Bush.

Homework questions: What are some other reasons why people don’t vote? What, then, are some of the solutions being discussed by Canadians?

Importance of Reason for Not Voting (% very or fairly important) 68+ 58– 67 48– 57 38– 47 30– 37 25– 29  21-24 18-20 Total Just not interested 31.4 34.0 46.4 50.6 51.8 59.3 57.0 59.1 52.9 Didn’t like parties/candidates 41.7 40.8 56.0 50.9 46.9 43.2 50.7 45.3 47.6 Vote wouldn’t matter 30.6 37.5 47.1 37.9 41.1 36.7 34.3 30.4 37.1 Didn’t care about issues 42.9 28.0 35.7 37.3 36.6 32.8 37.7 36.5 36.0 Busy at work 16.7 14.3 16.5 24.8 36.9 33.9 38.6 40.9 32.2 Out of town 19.4 34.7 19.3 18.3 21.5 25.1 21.8 Didn’t know where or when 28.6 12.2 12.9 9.4 19.2 24.4 28.5 28.4 21.1 Not on the list 25.7 16.3 15.5 16.8 16.0 20.3 18.4 24.2 18.7 Too many elections 26.2 24.5 20.0 18.5 21.4 13.0 9.5 17.3 Illness 20.4 11.9 11.8 8.5 10.7 9.2 10.8 11.7

What are some other reasons why people don’t vote? Elections issues are not seen as controversial nor key to the survival of the country (e.g., separation of Quebec) Satisfied with the present government, thus there is no need to vote for change Voting is seen mainly as a right, not a duty Don’t have enough information about the election process and/or the participants Generally less interested in politics at a national level – more interested in global issues

What, then, are some of the solutions being discussed by Canadians? Make voting compulsory. Australia, Belgium and Greece all have laws which have made voting compulsory. Change the conditions for voting: Drop the voting age from 18 to 16 Allow for voting through the mail or Internet based voting Allow voting on other days, such as on a weekend (elections are traditionally held on Mondays)