Ontario’s 2007 election and referendum results are mostly in, with 98% of polls reporting. In a nutshell:
- Little changed in terms of seats allocated to political parties
- The MMP proposal got approval from 37% of voters; 60% was needed to pass
- The Green party won zero seats, but received 8.2% of the popular vote
- Voter turnout was a record low, under 50%
The table below shows the results, and what they would have been, were the MMP system in place.
If you do the math you’ll see that MMP approval — 37% of the popular vote — exceeds the total percentage of Green Party and NDP votes (8.2% + 16.8%) by a further 12%. That means a lot of people who voted for the PC or Liberal party also voted in favor of MMP. This despite the confusion, uncertainty and doubt reported by the major media.
The huge gain by the Green party is also significant: it indicates far more environmental concern now than in ’03 when the Green Party received only 3% of the popular vote. We should expect (and demand) that mainstream party agendas become more green in the years ahead.
|
Party |
Percentage of popular vote |
Seats under current system |
Riding seats under MMP |
Total seats under MMP |
|
Liberals |
42% |
71 |
60 |
60 |
|
Progressive Conservatives |
31.7% |
25 |
21 |
39 |
|
NDP |
16.8% |
11 |
9 |
20 |
|
Green Party |
8.2% |
0 |
0 |
10 |
(Source: Globe and Mail)
I’m hoping for better preparation next time around. Flavors of proportional representation are used successfully today in New Zealand, Venezuela, Hungary, Scotland’s parliament, Wales’ national assembly, and every European country except Britain. We can do at least as well as them, and certainly better than First Past the Post.
I voted against MMP. While I’m for proportional representation in theory, in practice MMP results in more minority governments. A G&M study showed that every Ontario election going back to at least the 50s would have resulted in a minority govt under MMP. The provincial parliament is inept as it is; a minority govt will make it more so IMO
While I’m cynically accustomed to elections not finishing with the results I would prefer and my various branches of government not governing in the way I would choose for myself, I do accept these as being at the very nature of a democratic process. Debating whether or not our systems fairly represent the truest wills of the people is also a crucial ongoing dialogue and I applaud any efforts to challenge complacency or the status quo. But I am sorely disheartened that voter turnout is so pitifully low in all our elections. Clearly, a great number of people are not engaged in their own governance and this does little to encourage positive evolution in those who compose government and the policies that result. It’s a sorry indictment that few are interested in civic activities being part of their lives, offering faint hope of enlightened or daring platforms emerging from the more standard, safe campaigns.