I’ve been a bad blogger (as usual) but now that I’ve put a big pile of student papers away, I can put down some of my thoughts on the issue of electoral reform.

First, let me explain how I became interested in the issue of electoral reform. I grew up in a political home, the kind of place where issues of the day were (and still are whenever I’m back) invariably discussed at the kitchen table. This led to a life-long interest in political affairs, particularly elections.

My interest in legislatures was further developed when I had the opportunity to work as a legislative page – you know those cute teenagers in the black suits bearing water – both in historic Province House in my native Prince Edward Island and the House of Commons. By then end of my year in Ottawa, after having observed hundreds of hours of legislative debate, I had the unmistakable sense that as citizens, we need and can ask for more from our democratic institutions.

I observed grown men and women two or three times my age behave like children. Sadly, in a 21^st Century Canadian legislature, “debate” appears to be far too often characterized by misleading, personal and unwarranted attacks on political opponents rather than a respectful discussion of policy alternatives. At its root, this must be a reflection of the inescapable fact that, due to our outdated first-past-the-post electoral systems, our legislatures reflect neither how we vote nor our diversity. Thanks to our pre-democratic voting system, we are facing the challenges of a new millennium with political institutions that under-represent minority viewpoints, inflame regional tensions and prevent new ideas and perspectives from entering the legislature.

The next year, as a part of co-operative work placement, I worked as a research assistant at the Public Policy Forum, an Ottawa-based think tank. The main project I worked on and certainly the one I enjoyed most was on youth voter turnout – which as I’m sure you are aware is steadily in decline. I studied a good portion of the academic literature on this subject and had come to the inescapable conclusion that talking about increasing voter participation without fixing our broken electoral system is ignoring the reason behind the problem. And when you think about it, does it not make sense that young Canadians of my generation, who are accustomed to unbelievable choice in most areas of their lives – from beauty products to colas to television channels – are being turned off by a political system that reduces the effective choices they can make.

As I continued my university studies, I took every opportunity possible to do more research on proportional electoral systems. In particular, I took an interest in New Zealand electoral politics, as their recent move from a FPTP to a mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system, makes for fascinating study.

Finally, my work on electoral reform was continued this Fall when I had the pleasure of organizing the Yes campaign in the November 2005 plebiscite on an MMP system for my home province of PEI. While the results were not what I had hoped for, the experience was probably the most valuable of my life so far. I got to work with a great and diverse group of Islanders and gained some valuable experience in how to sell electoral reform to my fellow citizens. It is this expertise that I hope bring to the Fair Vote Canada national council.

I’ll have another post soon on some of my ideas for the FVC council and some projects I’d commit to undertaking if elected.