What’s wrong with the Yukon’s first-past-the-post voting system?

First-past-the-post in the Yukon produces results that don’t reflect how Yukoners voted. The problems include:

False majority governments: A false majority means that one party gets all the power, even though they didn’t get support from a majority of Yukon voters. A “majority” government can be elected with 39% of the vote.

Since 1978, every election in the Yukon except 1992, 2021 and 2025 has given one party all the power with less than half the vote. 

Strategic voting: Many people feel they must vote for the “lesser evil” instead of the candidate they would prefer.

Hostile politics: Winner-take-all systems like first-past-the-post make adversarial partisan politics worse. Parties attack each other rather than working together to solve long-term problems.

Safe seats: Elections with first-past-the-post are decided in a few swing ridings. Voters in many “safe ridings” (where the same party always wins) can be ignored.