Camille Labchuk

It seems to have become trendy for the media to report that Canadians are simply crying out for a majority government in Ottawa. First, there was last week’s Harris-Decima poll, and now, the CBC has commissioned an Ekos poll, with the headline on their web story flashing Canadians want majority government: poll.

But upon actually reading this news item, it is apparent the headline fails to accurately express the results of the poll. According to the story,

Nationally, 26 per cent of those polled said they wanted a Liberal majority, while 25 per cent called for a Conservative majority. An equal amount — 25 per cent — responded with “none of the above.”

Fifteen per cent of those polled called for a Liberal minority and nine per cent said the best result would be a Conservative minority.

Contrary to the CBC’s take on this, Canadians do not have a clear desire for a majority government – it’s basically a split. This is not a case of Canadians expressing a general desire for a majority, but rather, a clear case of partisan voters wanting their party to come out on top in the next election. Think about it. The Liberals and Conservatives can each count around 25% of voters (and probably more) as core, loyal voters. It’s an obvious conclusion that most of these hardcore Liberal or Conservative voters want a majority for their party of choice. This is not surprising and it’s not really news.

I’m also uncomfortable with this poll and its coverage in the sense that it perpetuates a false dichotomy — that either the Liberals or Conservatives are destined to govern this country.

The EKOS poll, commissioned for the CBC and released Thursday, asked which of the following outcomes of the next federal election “would be best”:

• Liberal minority.
• Liberal majority.
• Conservative minority.
• Conservative majority.
• None of the above.

Apparently, the 36% of Canadians who rejected the two biggest parties in the last election simply don’t count — they’re lumped into the NOTA category. These voters will continue to be marginalized so long as pollsters continue to phrase questions in this way, and the Canadian media advances this either-or fallacy.

My prediction? Minority governments are on the horizon for the near future, and if Canadians actually do want a majority, the best chance of getting this is through proportional representation. A PR system would encourage stable coalition governments, where two or more parties collectively represent a majority of voters and run the country together. If we’re tired of constant elections and deadlocked parliaments, the path forward is a PR system that fosters more stability and cooperation, and less partisanship. I’m one Canadian who is tired of false majorities, where one party receives most of the seats without most of the votes. In my view, the absolute worst result after the next election would be a phony majority.