A proposal to radically alter the way Ontarians elect MPPs - which, had it been in effect last night, would have dramatically boosted the NDP's seat total and vaulted the Greens into the legislature for the first time - was roundly rejected by voters yesterday.
Based on last night's results, the proposed mixed-member proportional voting system, or MMP, would have denied the Liberals their majority, reducing them to just 60 of the system's proposed 129 seats and forcing them to rely on one of the smaller parties to prop up the government.
The NDP would have won 20 seats, compared to last night's 11. The Greens, with a record 8.2 per cent of the popular vote, would have earned 10 seats under MMP, but were instead once again shut out.
But results showed that voters were, even more strongly than polls predicted, rejecting the proposed plan to make Ontario's voting system more closely reflect the popular vote, with about 63 per cent opting to retain the current system.
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The defeat came amid criticism from advocates for electoral reform that the referendum was poorly publicized, and unfair for requiring the proposed system to earn 60 per cent of the vote as well as simple majorities in at least 64 of the province's 107 ridings to pass.
Larry Gordon, campaign manager for the citizens' group Vote for MMP, said it appeared many voters simply didn't get the information they needed to decide. He said Elections Ontario, which said it sent out millions of leaflets and spent $6.8-million, still could have done more to spread the word.
"We were talking to people in the polls and seeing people around asking what's this referendum about? What's this other ballot about? Which is a sad indicator," Mr. Gordon said, pointing out that MMP support still outstripped both NDP and Tory shares of the popular vote.
Pointing to polls showing younger voters in favour of the idea, he said his group would build on the result and continue to push the next government on the issue: "This is a starting point. This is not the end of the game."
The issue, he argued, could be put back on the ballot. In New Zealand, it took two referendums to adopt a similar system in 1993. British Columbians rejected a different new voting system in 2005, but electoral reform will be back on the ballot there in 2009. (PEI voters also rejected MMP in 2005.)
But Michael Ufford, chairman of the group No MMP, said last night that a decisive result in favour of the current system should be considered final.
"They lost in PEI, they lost in British Columbia, and if they lose in Ontario ... they have to get the message some time," Mr. Ufford said.
The proposal, similar in many ways to proportional representation systems used in most other democracies around the world, was selected by a specially convened citizens' assembly earlier this year.
It would eliminate the problem of parties forming majority governments with less than 50 per cent of the vote by ensuring that a party's share of seats in the legislature more closely mirrored its popular support.
Voters would still select local MPPs, much as they do now, but there would be just 90 seats chosen this way. Citizens would also be asked to vote separately for a party. Another 39 seats in the legislature, drawn from lists of candidates submitted by each party, would be allotted according to these votes, for a total of 129 seats, compared with the current 107. These seats would only be awarded to parties that win at least 3 per cent of the vote, to limit fringe groups.
While the No MMP group says it raised much less money than advocates for the change, both sides collected lists of prominent current and former politicians as supporters. Of the party leaders, Progressive Conservative John Tory opposed the plan, while the NDP's Howard Hampton supported it, as did Green Leader Frank de Jong. Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty remained neutral.
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Projected election results using MMP system
The mixed-member proportional system that Ontario voters appeared to reject yesterday aimed to have representation more closely mirror the popular vote.
These would have been the seat totals if yesterday's election had been run using MMP, according to numbers available at press time. (The numbers skew slightly: the Liberals would still be over-represented, as they would have taken more riding seats than their total proportion would allow for.)
Liberals
Percentage of popular vote: 42.0
Seats under current system: 71
Riding seats under MMP: 60
Total seats under MMP: 60
Progressive Conservatives
Percentage of popular vote: 31.7
Seats under current system: 25
Riding seats under MMP: 21
Total seats under MMP: 39
NDP
Percentage of popular vote: 16.8
Seats under current system: 11
Riding seats under MMP: 9
Total seats under MMP: 20
Green Party
Percentage of popular vote: 8.2
Seats under current system: 0
Riding seats under MMP: 0
Total seats under MMP: 10
Doug Cudmore
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