Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says the Liberal government has no plans to pursue electoral reform, defending Canada's first-past-the-post system despite former prime minister Justin Trudeau calling his failure to change it his greatest regret.“Canada’s electoral system is not perfect,” MacKinnon wrote in response to a Green Party petition. “No system is. But it has served our country well with its unique identity, history and geography for over 150 years and continues to advance the core democratic values that Canadians want reflected in their system of government.”Blacklock's Reporter said MacKinnon pointed to voter participation in the 2025 federal election as evidence of confidence in the existing system.“There is always more work to do, but Canadians have many reasons to be proud of their electoral system,” he wrote.MacKinnon said close to 20 million Canadians voted in 2025, producing turnout of more than 69%, the highest in more than 30 years.His comments came in response to Petition 451-01120, sponsored by Green MP Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.), which called for proportional representation.Petitioners argued the current first-past-the-post system can produce majority governments for parties receiving less than 50% of the popular vote.“Canada’s current ‘first past the post’ electoral system often leads to false majorities where a party with less than 50% of the popular vote forms government, and can discourage Canadians from voting because they feel their voices are not heard and their views are not represented,” said the petition.Petitioners also claimed the system “rewards unhealthy partisanship” and leaves voters feeling they must vote strategically rather than for their preferred candidate or party.They called for proportional representation to “ensure all votes, wherever they are cast, contribute equally to the election result and reflect the diversity of political views held by Canadians.”The Liberals came to office in 2015 promising to examine major changes to Canada's electoral system.A 2015 Ministerial Mandate letter called for consultations on “electoral reform, including preferential ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting and online voting.”.An all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform subsequently recommended in its 2016 report Strengthening Democracy In Canada that Canadians vote in a national referendum before changes were made to the Elections Act.Cabinet rejected the recommendation.“Broad support needed among Canadians for change of this magnitude does not exist,” then-Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said at the time.The government also launched the federally subsidized MyDemocracy.ca website to gather Canadians' opinions on electoral reform.About 15 million electors received cards in the mail encouraging them to complete the online questionnaire, but only 2% of voters participated.Trudeau acknowledged the abandoned electoral reform promise when announcing his retirement in 2025, describing it as his greatest political regret.“I do wish we had been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so people could choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot,” he said.
