If the polls hold true, there will be some type of Liberal government chosen in the 2025 federal election, the most important election of our lives.

The fight for Canada and our sovereignty then kicks into to full gear — the hard work gets underway. Whether you love or despise U.S. President Donald Trump, his wrecking-ball politics and threats to Canada have forced us to all look inward at ourselves as Canadians. That exercise, in the midst of a global economic war, and a federal election, has shown us the many critical areas where we are weak and unprepared economically, security and defence-wise, politically, and environmentally. We have to move on all these areas, and more, in a fast, coordinated way — investing in Canada so we can survive and prosper in this very turbulent world.

Throughout this election, it was a polarized, two-party race. Talk of alienation, separation, division and our broken system of government, drifting towards the dysfunctional American model, were consistent themes throughout the election campaign. This worsening situation is, in part, a direct result of our “first past the post" (FPTP) electoral system that, over time, has helped create the highly-polarized system we have today. It allows a majority government to get elected with less than half the votes, leaving millions of Canadians and huge swathes the country with no voice in government. If we do not address this problem, Canada will be faced with increasing political discontent and unrest, especially with the shift to prime ministerial government, concentrating all government authority in that office.

Among democratic countries, there are two basic types of electoral systems: winner-take-all systems, like FPTP or ranked ballots, where a party can win a majority of seats and all the power with far less than half the popular vote, while proportional representation (PR) systems ensure that majority governments have an actual majority of the voters behind them.

More than 130 countries have some type of proportional representation. Fewer than 55 countries, mainly former British colonies, use a  winner-takes-all system.

This issue is not new in Canada. Most recently, in 2015, Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise of electoral reform, promising that the 2015 election would be the last under the FPTP system. A House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform was established, with members appointed on the basis of party vote shares from the 2015 federal election. The committee consulted widely and submitted a final report that was presented to the House of Commons in December 2016.

One of its key recommendations was that the government should select a PR system and ask the Canadian people to choose between the PR system and the FPTP system in a referendum. Trudeau’s preferred option of winner-take-all, ranked ballot — worse than FPTP — was rejected by the committee. In addition, he did not want have a referendum. As prime minister, he wanted to be able to decide. To preserve the Liberal hold on power, he reneged on his campaign promise, keeping the status quo. 

We are on a war footing. This issue can no longer be ignored. To do so will only undermine the many broad initiatives that are critical to the national interest. The special committee did good work that can be used as a starting point. It is some political parties that are holding the country back. The people are more than ready for this discussion and to provide their direction. 

If we are indeed to be Canada strong, then the prime minister has to take up this issue that his predecessor shelved for all the wrong reasons. He needs to get multi-party agreement to proceed and follow the recommendations of the special committee. From there, he needs to engage with Canadians and come up with a preferred PR option. Then it will be time to put the choice of the preferred PR option or the FPTP option to Canadians by way of a referendum. This is not an issue to be determined by political parties but by Canadians at the ballot box. 

The status quo is not working, as evidenced by this election. You cannot build a united Canada strong with an electoral system designed to divide us. Hoping and wishing that this issue goes away will not work. On this issue, we have to hope less and plan and do more to a make sure, as much as humanly possible, we make every vote count for a united and enduring Canada strong.