Back to square one

So here we are, right back where we started. Was it worth all the money and time and energy? Not to my mind, but I'm just one voter.

I have no representation in federal government. My riding went Conservative and there is little if anything in their leadership, policies or values that speaks to the kind of Canada that I love.

Thankfully the country has managed to avoid a majority Conservative government - I shudder at the possibility. Sadly the downward slide of voter turnout continued. Why don't people vote? Any number of reasons I suspect: apathy, disinterest, frustration, hopelessness, etc. Strategic voting and vote swapping - aided by technology - seem to be gaining ground, but to what end?

I looked at the voter share with interest because it’s often quite a different picture than what ends up filling those seats in Parliament. The final tally stands at Con 143, Lib 76, Bloc 50, NDP 37, independent 2, and Green 0. If Canadians were represented by vote share things would look just a little different: Con 117, Lib 80, NDP 55, Bloc 31, Green 22, and independent 3.

So in reality the voices of Con and Bloc voters are substantially over-represented and those of the NDP and Green voters are substantially under-represented. It’s particularly fascinating how the Bloc with only 9.97% of voter share ends up with 50 MPs in Parliament but the Greens with a slightly smaller vote share of 6.8% end up without a single representative! (Don't assume you know who I voted for...)

Ahhh democracy – mysterious and glorious all at the same time – a work in progress. Still, there are a lot of places where people can’t even speak out, far less vote. I hope everyone earned their right to complain by going out to vote!
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