Election System

and Numbers!!

Yes there will be some math.

How

are

MPs

Ele

cted?

To become elected a

candidate must win the most votesThe candidate does

NOT need more than

50% of the votesEach candidate runs in

a single riding

Does the PM run in a riding?

Rid

ings

in

Canada http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia

/commons/c/ca/Blank_Canada_fed_election_riding_map.svg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Alberta_federal_ridings_%28rural%29_-_Crowfoot.svg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Canada_2011_Federal_Election.svg

Who f

orm

s th

e

Gove

rnm

ent?

The party who wins the

most ridings is elected

as the governmentThis is NOT necessarily

the party with the most

votesA party does NOT need

over 50% of the seats

to win

There are 308 seats in the HOC, how many would a party need for 50%?

Two possible outcomes (page 28)

Majo

rity

Gove

rnm

ent

Pros

Can move

faster (all

votes are

symbolic)

Big changes

can occur

Cons

Little regard

to opposition’s

concerns

May not

represent

the majority

of Canadians

Min

ority

Gove

rnm

ent

Pros

Represent

more

interests

Parties work

together

Cons

Slower

moving

Harder to

make big

changes

Ele

ctions

Resu

lts

Examples of possible outcomes

What type of government would this be?

Popula

r Vote

The winning candidate or government may not be the most popularPopular vote: The total

votes cast in an election,

as different from the total seats won in an election

Do you think that we should use the popular vote instead of ridings? Why

or why not?