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WHEREAS the 2018 New Brunswick General Election produced a minority government where the proportion of Members elected to the Legislative Assembly does not reflect the proportion of votes received by each party in the election;
WHEREAS Fair Vote Canada found that Legislatures using proportional representation are more stable, as there is no incentive for calling a quick election in order to gain a majority government;
WHEREAS the New Brunswick Commission on Legislative Democracy, established in 2003 by PC Premier Bernard Lord, designed and recommended a Mixed-Member Proportional Representation system for New Brunswick;
WHEREAS the 2017 Commission on Electoral Reform recommended that the government consider some form of
proportional representation;
WHEREAS a recent poll determined that more than half of New Brunswickers say that the number of votes is more important than the number of seats in determining who will govern New Brunswick;
WHEREAS over ninety countries currently use proportional representation, including 85% of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development;
WHEREAS when more than 2 parties are present, the current First Past the Post electoral system can lead to unrepresentative outcomes;
The Motion urges the government to:
- Ask a Committee of the Legislature to: review the recommendation of the 2003 Commission on Legislative Democracy to establish a system of Mixed-Member Proportional Representation;
- Invite the public to appear before the Committee to provide their views on Mixed-Member Proportional Representation;
- Recommend a public process to determine whether to implement Mixed-Member Proportional Representation that will be completed before the next election.