MONTREAL - The next time Quebecers choose a government, it might happen a bit differently.
'Let's look at it as every citizen in Quebec having their vote count'
The Liberal government has announced it will introduce a measure of proportional representation for the next provincial election.
It says it will correct some distortions built into the current system.
Liberal MNA Jacques Dupuis will pilot the changes as junior minister for the reform of democratic institutions.
Last April 14, each MNA was voted to Quebec's National Assembly riding by riding. Dupuis says with what the Liberals are proposing, at the next general election, the popular vote would count, too.
"Our sole goal, is to [ensure] that as many tendencies as possible in the society are represented," Dupuis says.
Could change outcome
Proportional representation would have been a good thing for the Action Démocratique du Québec party.
The ADQ won more than 18 per cent of the popular vote during the last provincial election. However, the party only got three per cent of the seats in the National Assembly because their support was not concentrated enough to win more ridings.
Dupuis says the new system will be more fair for everyone.
"Let's look at it as every citizen in Quebec having their vote count," Dupuis says.
He won't say yet how much weight the popular vote will carry.
The Liberals plan to consult the other parties before they table their bill sometime next spring.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.