What happened to electoral reform?

Staring down the barrel of two conservative landslides, progressive students should aim to revive electoral reform to democratically empower themselves and others

On the eve of an Ontario election, set to take place on Feb. 27 and a looming federal election likely sometime this summer, conservatives at the provincial and federal level appear to be ascendant. But it shouldn't have to be like this. If students can get organized, it may not have to be.

Canada’s federal election was given a timeline when, on Jan. 6, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he will be resigning as liberal leader and requested that parliament be kept on leave until a new leader was chosen. This next leader will likely face an election soon after parliament resumes at the end of March, as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has indicated his intention to vote with the other opposition parties for an election.

When asked what he regretted most by reporters at the announcement of his resignation, Justin Trudeau cited his abandonment of electoral reform during his first term as leader after the 2015 election.

It was after that election, when the Liberals won a majority in the federal parliament, that they convened a committee of all the parties in parliament to propose a path for electoral reform. When all four opposition parties, including the conservatives, came back with a proposal Justin Trudeau didn't like, the Liberals abandoned their promised reform entirely.

Nine years later, this proposal for proportional representation — where parties would gain seats proportional to their share of the popular vote, not based on the number of ridings they win — looks like a pretty good deal.

Ontario’s upcoming snap-election looks to be a secure win for Doug Ford. Despite his record of a massive cut to OSAP, being under RCMP investigation for corruption and most recently making bike lanes all but impossible to build, no opposition party appears to be mounting a serious challenge in the polls.

Students, generally in the age group least likely to vote in Canada, could change the election by turning out en-masse. While students absolutely should vote in the upcoming election, McMaster students alone are not well positioned to make a difference in the progressive seats of Hamilton-Centre and West-Hamilton-Ancaster-Dundas.

Politically active students might have better luck starting or joining party-affiliated clubs on campus, which offer a chance to organize and make their voices on policies such as electoral reform heard. Some political parties even allow student organizations to vote on party affairs and policy.

Despite current polling data, all hope is not lost, as progressive students may have a strange ally in their quest to stop conservative majorities at the Provincial and National level: Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 caused great political change north of the border. Provincially, it was Doug Ford’s supposed reasoning for calling an election. Federally, it spells a much different story. It is possible one of the main factors behind a recent decline in Conservative polling.

While this decline is not yet critical, as tensions with the United States of America continue to build and the liberal leadership race continues, the polls may continue to slide.

If Ontario is a long-shot, changing the Federal Election results seems like a possibility. But without a clear vision and without organizing, students can't hope to change either. Ontario’s election is our chance to get organized and serves as a warning of what lacking the infrastructure – only one party has a campus affiliate – for organizing means. But our vision should be clear, young people need electoral reform.

Proportional representation, an electoral system that awards seats in parliament based on the amount of votes a whole party gets, could enable more parties to gain seats and work together in forming and running a government. It could also prevent the parliamentary majorities that swing Canadian politics drastically on sometimes less than 40 per cent of the vote.

Students are, as mentioned above, overwhelmingly part of the age demographic least likely to vote. Their reasoning, according to Elections Canada, is a feeling that governments don't really respond to their voices or votes.

Without student organizations and pressure, electoral reform might never regain the momentum it had in 2015. But if we as students get organized now and demand electoral reform, we could change how students feel about the impact of their vote and empower students to play a larger role in determining the future of the country.