What is proportional representation?
Proportional representation (PR) is a principle that says the percentage of seats a party has in the legislature should reflect the percentage of people who voted for that party. If a party gets 30% of the vote, they should get about 30% of the seats. It’s the most common kind of voting system in the world.
Under first-past-the-post, a party can win a majority of seats and all the power with far less than half the popular vote.
Proportional representation ensures that majority governments have an actual majority of the voters behind them.
With first-past-the-post, most voters don’t elect anyone to represent them. Their votes don’t affect the outcome. This is what leads to distorted results.
With proportional representation, almost every vote helps elect an MLA. Almost everyone is represented.
All systems of proportional representation for the Yukon keep strong local representation for Yukon’s communities, while delivering fair results for all Yukon voters.
That means better policy decisions for everyone.
Proportional Representation 101
PR 101 webinar on the 15th of every month
Learn the basics: What’s wrong with winner-take-all systems? What is proportional representation (PR)? How would it strengthen our democracy?
Fair Vote Canada (the national campaign for proportional representation) offers PR 101 every month (except July and August). A half hour presentation is followed by questions and answers in a small group setting.
Offered on the 15th of each month (except July and August) at 10 AM MST (Yukon) if the date is on a weekend, and 5 PM MST if the date is during the week. Register for any of the upcoming sessions.