Problems with first-past-the-post in the Yukon

The Yukon uses a first-past-the-post (winner-take-all) voting system. With first-past-the-post, Yukon voters do not get what they voted for.

False majority governments are the norm. A false majority means that one party gets all the power, even though they didn’t get support from a majority of Yukon voters.

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

More problems with first-past-the-post:

• Voters may feel compelled to vote “strategically” for someone they don’t support to try to block a candidate they strongly dislike from winning.
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• In each riding, one MLA is elected (“winner-take-all”). This means only one point of view is represented. Voters for all other candidates receive no representation. In Yukon’s 2021 election, over 9924 voters (52.2%) cast ballots which elected no one.
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• Many voters live in “safe seats” where the same party could run a lamp post and win. This means that voters in these ridings may be ignored at election time.
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• Shifts from one “majority” government to another can lead to “policy lurch,” as new governments undo policies enacted by the previous one.
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• Winner-take-all voting systems make adversarial, partisan politics worse. Constant campaigning aimed at winning the next 39% majority can take priority. Cooperation between parties is needed to solve long-term problems, but with first-past-the-post, such cooperation is discouraged in favour of quick fixes or inaction.