Yellowknife calls on Ottawa to introduce proportional representation

Jeremy Flatt says he feels proud to be a Yellowknifer after city councillors passed a motion in support of federal electoral reform.

Flatt is a representative of Fair Vote NWT. Its nationwide equivalent, Fair Vote Canada, is campaigning for proportional representation to be introduced.

Proportional representation is an electoral system that attempts to ensure the number of seats a party holds in Parliament is proportional to the number of people who voted for that party.

Flatt was joined by around a dozen people who attended a special council meeting at Yellowknife City Hall on Wednesday. Councillors unanimously voted in favour of a motion calling on the federal government to adopt a proportional representation system.

“I am thrilled,” Flatt told Cabin Radio following the vote.

“I feel very proud of my city right now. I’m very grateful for my accessible and responsive local government.”

The city’s motion states its message will be shared with NWT MP Rebecca Alty and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Flatt said he believes Yellowknife will be the first city in Canada to send such a resolution to the federal government.

“I think the idea of this resolution coming out of a place like Yellowknife will be surprising and educational for a lot of people,” he said.

Electoral reform and major projects

Flatt said he thinks people are paying more attention to electoral reform as they are concerned about the future of democracy in North America and abroad.

Noting the federal government has promised billions of dollars of investment and support for major projects in the North, he said under Canada’s current electoral system, major projects and policies can face risks if the government changes.

“A system of proportional representation would make these sorts of projects much easier to handle and lead to a lot more stable and predictable development over the years,” he said.

Under Canada’s current electoral system, known as first past the post, voters cast a ballot to elect a Member of Parliament. The party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons – not necessarily the one with the most votes across Canada – usually forms government.

‘Our democratic system needs to adapt’

Introducing the motion at City Hall on Wednesday, councillor Tom McLennan said he believed council should support electoral reform at the federal level to “encourage democratic participation and engagement” and “enable more consistent and predictable federal support.”

“Our first-past-the-post system works against this engagement by limiting or shutting out many voices from representation within our democracy,” he argued.

McLennan gave the example that the NWT has not had a Conservative MP since 1988, which he said means Conservative voters in the territory have not been represented in decisions being made at the federal level for 38 years.

“I want all different views to be heard at the decision-making table,” he said.

In the 2025 federal election, 8,855 voters in the NWT cast a ballot for Liberal candidate Rebecca Alty, 5,513 for Conservative candidate Kimberly Fairman, 2,011 for New Democratic candidate Kelvin Kotchilea, and 170 for Green candidate Rainbow Eyes.

McLennan added that under the current electoral system, changes in government can result in “fundamental shifts or outright cancellation of federal programs,” impacting municipal budgets.

McLennan said he believes a proportional representation system would ensure that “every vote matters” and “smooth out large swings” in federal programming and funding.

Mayor Ben Hendriksen said while federal electoral reform was “not a huge priority” for him on city council, he supported the motion.

“In a time of global turmoil, polarization at home, and voters in parts of the country who feel so alienated that three of our provinces have separatist parties, our democratic system needs to adapt,” he said.

Hendriksen said while “no electoral system is perfect,” he believes federal politicians with different views need to work together, have discussions and build relationships to move forward.

Advocates of the proportional representation electoral system have further contended that it would lead to fewer wasted votes, encourage voter turnout, and lead to better representation of minority groups.

Critics of proportional representation argue it would result in more unstable coalition governments, weaken the link between MPs and their constituents, risk extremism and disproportionate influence of small parties, and make it harder to hold the government accountable.

Where federal parties stand on electoral reform

After stepping down as prime minister in January 2025, Justin Trudeau – who had advocated for changing to a ranked ballot system – said he regretted not implementing electoral reform during his time in office.

It does not look like the current Liberal federal government, which recently secured a majority following several floor crossings and by-elections, is considering reforming Canada’s electoral system any time soon.

Ahead of the 2025 federal election, Carney said electoral reform was not a part of the Liberal Party’s platform as it was focused on advancing priorities related to economic and security crises. He said his personal view was that the prime minister should remain neutral on the issue.

At the recent Liberal National Convention in Montréal, party members failed to pass a resolution in support of moving to a proportional representation system.

Newly elected New Democratic Party Leader Avi Lewis ran on a platform that included a promise to demand proportional representation if the party holds the balance of power in Ottawa.

Changing to a proportional representation voting system was also part of the Green Party’s platform ahead of the 2025 federal election.

Electoral reform was not part of the Conservative Party’s platform.

In its policies, the party states it “believes the discussion of possible changes to the electoral system is valuable in a healthy democracy.” The policies say government should not endorse electoral systems that “weaken the link” between MPs and their constituents, create “unmanageably large” ridings, or “strengthen the control of the party machinery” over MPs.

The policies state a national referendum must be held before any electoral reform proposal is implemented.