Study Notes on The Electoral System and the Party System in Canada, 1921-1965

Author: Alan C. Cairns
Affiliation: University of British Columbia
Published in: Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 1968, pp. 55-80.
Stable URL: JSTOR
Publisher: Canadian Political Science Association

The paper evaluates assumptions about the Canadian party system and how significantly the electoral system has influenced its development.
Key Assumptions Investigated:
1. The influence of the electoral system on the party system has been minimal or non-existent.
2. The party system has played a crucial role in integrating Canadians across sectional lines.
Cairns challenges the prevailing view among Canadian political scientists regarding the electoral system's importance in shaping political parties and their associated cleavages.

Jurists like Schattschneider, Lipset, Duverger, and Key have emphasized how electoral systems affect party systems.
In Canada, however, the electoral system often goes unexamined as a key variable in explaining the development of party systems.

The debate between single-member constituency electoral systems (SMD) and proportional representation (PR) is crucial:
- Proportional Representation Advocates: Emphasize equality of votes and the unjust nature of distortions in representation by SMD systems.
- Opponents of PR: Argue that SMD systems ensure stability in the executive, enabling majorities that are well represented.
The paper does not advocate for proportional representation but critiques the single-member constituency system for losing sight of its negative implications.

Table I: Shows the percentage of votes and seats for the government party across various elections from 1921-1965.
Noteworthy observations:
- There is a marked tendency for the governing party to receive a higher percentage of seats compared to the percentage of votes, indicating that the electoral system benefits governing parties disproportionately.
- The electoral system facilitated full government party majorities on certain occasions, though this was inconsistent.
Failures of the Electoral System: A significant failure indicated a 71% failure rate in maintaining an effective opposition, thus undermining parliamentary balance.

Table II: Highlights biases in translating votes into seats, indicating discrimination benefits for both the strongest and weakest parties based on their sectional strengths.
Discussion on how changes over time in party systems affect representation and deepen electoral biases.

The paper discusses how the electoral system has disproportionately favored minor parties with regional strongholds while constraining others with more diffuse support.
- Example: The Reconstruction party in 1935 received 8.7% of the vote but only one seat, while Social Credit, with sectional concentration, performed favorably.

The electoral system also distorted parliamentary representations:
- Ontario's support for the Progressives was minimized, reflecting a skewed system that favored representation based on concentrated regional support.
For major parties, there is consistent underrepresentation of Ontario in the Liberal Parliament and significant overrepresentation of Quebec in the Liberal party, thus enhancing sectional tensions.

The paper indicates that the electoral system has elevated sectionalism while reducing the visibility of class-based politics, which significantly shapes party strategies.
Analysis of the Party Campaign Strategies: Elections serve to exacerbate existing tensions rather than serve as remedies, framing party appeals largely along sectional lines.

The electoral structure fosters perceptions that limit understanding of the dynamics between parties and various Canadian regions.
The narrative reinforces a winner-take-all mentality in political contests, accentuating divisions rather than healing them, leading to instability in governance.

The conclusion drawn is the detrimental effect that the electoral system has on national integration within Canada.
The author’s argument underscores the argument put forth by scholars that for countries with strong regional identities, a proportional representation system could play a better role in fostering national unity than the existing single-member constituency framework.

A call for a comparative analysis of electoral systems, particularly considering their different impacts on party systems and sectionalism.
A theory of the party system that incorporates various underlying factors, including the electoral and party systems and their intersection with societal divisions and politics.

Key Authors Cited: Schattschneider, Lipset, Duverger, Key, among others, emphasizing their contributions to understanding electoral and party systems.
Notable Papers Discussed: Various papers critiquing or supporting proportional representation and electoral studies across different contexts.

Table I: Percentage of Votes and Seats for the Government Party (1921-1965)
Table II: Bias of Electoral System in Translating Votes into Seats
Table III: Minor Parties: Percentage of Seats and Votes
Table IV: CCF/NDP Strength from Selected Provinces
Table V: Liberals and Conservatives: Parliamentary Strength from Quebec and Ontario