Just look at the results published at Elections Ontario. The Progressive Conservatives received 40.49 % of the vote. But they won a large majority of the seats 76 out of 124 or 61 % of the seats. The second place left of centre NDP won 33.57 % of the vote only 7 % points less than the Conservatives but won 36 fewer seats or 32 % of the seats. Even worse the defeated Liberals won 19.5 % of the vote but only 7 seats or 5.6 % of the seats. The Greens won only one seat but received 5 % of the vote. If it were a proportional voting system the results would have been much closer. Conservatives 50 seats, NDP 42 seats, Liberals 24 seats, Greens 6 seats, other 2 seats. The huge discrepancy is striking . The proportional outcome reveals the true nature of divided opinion in the Ontario electorate and the closeness of the race. As it stands the party that will govern with a strong unearned majority represents the 2.322 million voters who voted for it. But a total of 1.926 million voters voted for the NDP, 1.124 million voted for the Liberals and .263 million voted Green for a total of 3.313 million who voted for the three principal centre centre left parties. Once again a minority will impose its will on a majority for the next four years. Electoral reform is long overdue.
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About haroldchorneyeconomist
I am Professor of political economy at Concordia university in Montréal, Québec, Canada. I received my B.A.Hons (econ.&poli sci) from the University of Manitoba. I also completed my M.A. degree in economics there. Went on to spend two years at the London School of Economics as a Ph.D. student in economics and then completed my Ph.D. in political economy at the University of Toronto. Was named a John W.Dafoe fellow, a CMHC fellow and a Canada Council fellow. I also was named a Woodrow Wilson fellow in 1968 after completing my first class honours undergraduate degree. Worked as an economist in the area of education, labour economics and as the senior economist with the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation for the Government of Manitoba from 1972 to 1978. I also have worked as an economic consultant for MDT socio-economic consultants and have been consulted on urban planning, health policy, linguistic duality and public sector finance questions by the governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan,the cities of Regina and Saskatoon, Ontario and the Federal government of Canada. I have also been consulted by senior leaders of the British Labour party, MPs from the Progressive Conservative party, the Liberal party and the New Democrats on economic policy questions. Members of the Government of France under the Presidency of Francois Mitterand discussed my work on public sector deficits. I have also run for elected office at the municipal level. I first began to write about quantitative easing as a useful policy option during the early 1980s.
haroldchorneyeconomist 