Wait...do they even need fixing? Well, British Columbia is voting right now on whether or not to keep their first-past-the-post election model or move to a version of proportional representation. You may recall this choice from the 2015 federal election campaign, in which Justin Trudeau promised electoral reform that never arrived.
Will it arrive in BC, though? And what will change if it does? If you skipped civics class, what's the difference between first-past-the-post and proportional representation? And if the latter means that your vote matters more, then why are its critics quick to cite rising extremism as a reason to keep the status quo?
You might not think much about the details of counting votes—which is exactly why it's so hard to change how elections work. But some of the healthiest democracies in the world use proportional representation. Why? And what would Canada's future look like if we did make the switch?
GUEST: David Moscrop, Political Scientist