Social Studies 11
The First-Past-the-Post Electoral System
How First-Past-the-Post Works
In Canada, candidates are elected under the single member plurality electoral system (SMP).
Like many other former British colonies, Canada inherited the single member plurality system
from Great Britain. The history of the system precedes Confederation; it was first used to elect
members to the Nova Scotia legislature in 1758.
There are three main features that distinguish single member plurality from other types of
electoral systems in the world:
• Candidates represent a specific geographic area, called a riding district;
• There is only one member elected in each riding district;
• Votes are counted on a district-by-district basis for the individual candidates, not for political
parties; and,
• In order to win a riding, a candidate does not need to receive a clear majority (considered 50
percent plus one) of the votes. Instead, the candidate only needs to receive a relative
majority (also called a plurality majority), meaning that he/she received more votes than any
other candidate in the riding district. Under the single member plurality system, a candidate
can win a riding even though the majority of voters voted against him.
The single member plurality system is often referred to as the ‘first-past-the-post’ system simply
because, in a sense, it can be characterized as a race.
Positive and Negative Features of the First Past the Post Electoral System
There is both support for, and criticism against, the first-past-the-post system. Arguments on
both sides stem primarily from three key features:
• It tends to produce majority governments. Canada has had 38 federal elections since
Confederation; only eight have resulted in minority governments.
• It tends to over-reward major parties, and under-reward smaller parties. Under SMP it is all
too common for major parties to receive a higher percentage of seats than their share of the
popular vote, while smaller parties receive fewer seats. For example, in the June 2004
federal election, the Green Party received 4.3 percent of the popular vote, but did not win any
seats. Similarly, the NDP received 15.69 percent of the popular vote, but won only 19 out of
308 (approximately six percent) of House of Commons seats. By contrast, despite being
reduced to a minority government, the Liberals still received a higher percentage of seats
than their share of the popular vote (the party received 36.7 percent of the popular vote, but
won nearly 44 percent of the seats). The trend becomes even clearer when looking at the
2000 federal election, where 40.8 of the popular vote was enough to give the Liberals over 55
percent of the seats, and a clear parliamentary majority.
It is very common for a party (or candidate) to win a majority of seats without winning a majority
of votes. Between 1900 and 2004, Canadians elected 21 majority governments at the federal
level, but only ten actually received over 50 percent of the popular vote.
Benefits of the First Past the Post Electoral System
While the first past the post system has been greatly criticized in recent years, it does have
several advantages over other types of systems. These include:
• It tends to produce stable governments.
• It tends to produce a strong opposition party (both the winning party and the main opposition
party often receive a higher number of seats than their share of the popular vote).
• It allows voters to support a local candidate who represents the geographical area in which
they live
• It allows individuals who are not members of a political party to run as independents.
• It is easy for voters to understand how the system works.
• It tends to provide a clear-cut contest between two major parties.
Still, advocates of electoral reform in Canada have pointed out several flaws with the first past
the post system. These include:
• It is possible for the political party that received the second highest number of votes to win the
election. This happened in the 1957 and 1979 federal elections, and in the 1996 BC election.
• It is very difficult for smaller parties with a national base – such as the NDP or the Green
Party – to win seats.
