The way Quebecers vote in provincial elections could soon be revamped.
Justice Minister Sonia LeBel tabled Bill 39 on Wednesday, proposing to abandon the current voting system and replace it with the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system.
If the bill is adopted, there would still be 125 seats at the National Assembly but the electoral map would be redrawn to divide the province into just 80 electoral ridings.
“Essentially, the same ridings we have right now at the federal level,” Premier François Legault said.
The remaining 45 seats would be distributed among the parties based on popular vote.
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This comes after many questioned whether or not Quebec’s first-past-the-post system was really democratic.
When the CAQ won the 2018 election, it set a Canadian record: winning nearly 60 per cent of available seats with only 37 per cent of the popular vote — the lowest popular support ever for a majority government.
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Under an MMP system, the CAQ would have won closer to 60 seats during last year’s Oct. 1 election, rather than the 74 it actually won, according to government simulations.
However, some experts worry that the proposed new system could negatively impact Quebec’s anglophone minority.
Since the riding territories would be larger, some fear representation of English-speakers would be diluted. Legault refuted this claim.
“I think because they are concentrated, it doesn’t change anything. They’ll get as many seats as the actual system,” he said, before adding tongue in cheek, “By the way, I expect anglophones will vote for the CAQ more in 2022 and 2026, but in the meantime if they continue voting for the Liberal Party, it won’t change the number of seats.”
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Legault said Quebecers will have their say on whether they want to see the voting system changed in a referendum during the next provincial election.
“We’ll let them decide in 2022,” the premier said.
The Parti Québécois (PQ) and Québec Solidaire (QS) say a referendum isn’t necessary.
QS co-spokesperson Manon Massé noted the government never held a referendum on the religious symbols ban, nor Bill 101.
“It’s a very fundamental law that changed a lot of things and on that one we don’t need referendum? Why do we need referendum now?” she asked.
In two other referendums in Prince Edward Island and British Columbia, voters said no to proportional representation. However, Legault said that doesn’t concern him because he has three years to inform — and convince — Quebecers to accept his plan.
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“They didn’t explain in detail,” Legault said of the PEI and BC governments.
“Like what we’re doing — exactly where will the seats be, where will the candidates be coming from — and we have three years in front of us to explain the proposal.”
— with files from the Canadian Press.