(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - One-in-three Canadians are content with the system their country uses during federal elections, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 32 per cent of respondents prefer the first-past-the-post system, where candidates win seats by getting more votes than any other rival in a specific constituency.

Conversely, 25 per cent of respondents would rather have a proportional representation system, where parties win seats in accordance with their share of the national vote, and 19 per cent favour a mixed-member proportional voting system, which would allocate some seats on a constituency basis, and others by proportional representation.

In addition, 60 per cent of respondents think the current parliamentary system—with the prime minister and cabinet exercising power—is the best one for Canada. Support for a presidential or semi-presidential system is low.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January 2006. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper formed a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

On Oct. 2, during the televised English-language debate, Green party leader Elizabeth May voiced support for changes, saying, "We’ve got to put ourselves on a path of proportional representation, so that the will of the voters is expressed and the way people vote is reflected in the House of Commons."

The next federal election in Canada is scheduled for Oct. 14.

Polling Data

Which of these electoral systems would you prefer to use for federal elections in Canada?

Which of these political systems do you think would be best for Canada?

Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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