The results are in, another federal election is over, and what does Alberta get?.Nothing..I wrote last week about how Alberta is left out of most federal election debates and discussions because of the need for politicians to appeal to the vote-rich centers of Quebec and Ontario..Some of you quite fairly asked what should be done about this and, while Project Confederation spent considerable time discussing these challenges since we launched two years ago, we also have many new supporters who have joined us recently..So, now the federal election results are known, a recap is perhaps in order..There are two major issues with how federal elections work in Canada..First, seats in the House of Commons are not distributed proportionally to population..The Maritimes, representing Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have a combined 32 seats for 2.3 million people, or one seat for every 73,000 people and Quebec has 78 seats for roughly 8 million people, or roughly one seat for every 100,000 people, while Alberta has 34 seats for four million people, or about one for every 120,000 people..Canadian democracy is one-person-one-vote, but votes are worth much more in some parts of the country than in others!.The second issue is the relative sizes of Canadian provinces..The truth is, even if seats were perfectly distributed according to population, Ontario and Quebec would continue to dominate Canadian politics..There are roughly 30 seats in the “905” region of Ontario — which represents Durham, York, Peel and Halton — plus another 25 seats in Toronto proper. Add in another 78 in Quebec, and a party can almost win a majority in just those two provinces alone..One solution to this is to grow the West..As more people move to the West to create lives and earn livelihoods made possible by our superior public policies and freedoms, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the West in general will increase in population and influence compared with the rest of the country..This isn’t some fanciful dream, it’s already been happening for years, the West now has much more influence than it used to, and the trend is continuing..But that is a long-term change..For the foreseeable future, Ontario and Quebec will continue to have an outsized influence..The policies causing Alberta the most harm, such as equalization, are designed to benefit eastern Canadians at the expense of voters in Alberta, and this is unlikely to change any time soon..So, how is it that Alberta — the economic engine of the federation — has such little representation in Ottawa?.We contribute $20-plus billion per year to the rest of the country through equalization and various other transfer programs and yet election after election we are treated as the doormat of Ontario and Quebec..Other countries solve this problem by having a second house of parliament — a Senate — explicitly designed to protect the interests of their provinces or states..The House of Commons should represent, and protect the rights of us commoners while the Senate should represent and protect the rights of the provinces..Instead, in Canada the Senate is appointed by the prime minister, and acts as a tool to help consolidate power, not distribute it..In 1993, the Reform Party dominated Western Canada, sweeping the West on a platform centred around a Triple-E (equal, elected, and effective) Senate..A Senate with effective powers, an equal number of senators per province, and chosen by popular vote would provide a regional balance to parliament, one that could allow for the Senate to act as a check on the House of Commons that is dominated by eastern interests..Without regional representation in Ottawa, the federal government will continue to take advantage of Alberta and our economy..The constitutional structure is rigged against us, an institutional problem caused by an unfair separation of powers between the federal government and the provincial government..This is why systematic changes, not just tinkering, are absolutely necessary..Albertans will be going back to the polls October 18 to vote in the municipal elections, along with a referendum to abolish equalization from the constitution..Premier Jason Kenney’s equalization referendum is a good first step, but it must lead to significant reforms to the constitution — otherwise anything that changes with equalization can be undone with ease by the federal government in Ottawa..Next month’s vote also includes elections for Senators-in-Waiting..While not quite a Triple-E Senate, it’s a move in the right direction, though the likelihood of any elected senators being appointed by Canada’s current prime minister is low..If the West wants a “Fair Deal,” then next month’s equalization referenda and senate election must be seen as the first step on a long journey, not the destination itself..We need a change in governance, not just a change in government..Josh Andrus is a Columnist for the Western Standard
