Moving toward some form of proportional representation will be a key to democratic renewal in Alberta.  While the defeat of the proposal in Ontario was a setback, a Citizens’ Assembly is the most reasonable approach to developing a specific proposal to reflect Alberta’s circumstances. The resulting proposal should be considered in a provincial referendum, with a much more vigorous campaign to explain and promote the proposal. 

The Problems:

Alberta’s “first-past-the-post” electoral system has allowed the dominant party to win a majority of seats with only a minority of the vote, while also consistently under-representing other political parties.

The key democratic principles of majority rule, political equality and minority rights are all undermined by this current system. The system also creates artificial barriers to the election of women and minorities. The shortcomings in our electoral system ultimately result in a legislature that fails to reflect accurately the diversity of opinion in our province.

The Changes Needed:

There is no shortage of proposals to improve on the current system by moving to some form of proportional representation. The range of proposed models includes a wide variety of examples currently in use in countries around the globe.

Each of these approaches has strengths and drawbacks, but collectively they offer clear opportunities to deal with the undemocratic elements of our current system and to put in place more equitable, fair and democratic processes.

The task of finding an approach that reflects Alberta’s circumstances should be assigned to a “citizens’ assembly,” which needs to be given the time, resources and other support necessary to examine and recommend an approach. We can learn from the experiences of British Columbia and Ontario in several ways, but particularly in providing for a vigorous promotion and public debate on the issues and the directions that are ultimately proposed.

Comments from the PIA Democracy Forums:

• Proportional representation is the key to achieving most of the other goals [of democratic reform]
• Form a non-partisan coalition to actively promote this goal
• The crucial issue is electoral reform, but how do we get a citizens’ assembly if the government is not supportive?
• The citizens’ assembly should be government-funded but otherwise independent of government
• We must avoid a proposal that is too complex (like BC)
• Must explain it to the public in clear and simple terms
• Must be accompanied by open hearings across the province

PIA advocates six steps to promote democratic renewal in Alberta:

1. Institute comprehensive reform of electoral and political party financing

2. Abolish the Public Affairs Bureau and replace it with a system that is more open and non-partisan

3. Initiate a Citizens' Assembly to make recommendations on proportional representation

4. Strengthen the role of the Legislature and MLAs by further increasing the power of and support for legislative committees and officers

5. Create a high-profile Commission on Gender and Democracy to develop a comprehensive approach to achieving gender equity in our political system

6. Require a more open, thorough and effective approach to public consultation on issues of public policy development