It doesn’t have to take monumental action to make monumental change. It’s the small actions that add up to make the difference in the end, like spreading the word, signing petitions, and sending emails to your local representatives so that they know how important and serious this issue is to Canadians.
Here is a (growing) list of some of the small but important things you can do, to help change our voting systems across Canada to proportional ones:
Small but important actions for change:
Sign Fair Vote Canada’s Declaration of Voters Rights for Proportional Representation and join their mailing list. They have over 80,000 signatures. Help them reach 100,000!
Write to your federal or provincial representatives. Signing a petition is a good first step, but taking the time to write your MP or provincial representative is even better. If we don’t contact the politicians that represent us, they will never know how many Canadians really support changing to a proportional system. If we ALL contact our representatives, they will know how serious this issue is to Canadians. Calling them or visiting them is even more effective.
Volunteer with a local chapter of Fair Vote Canada. Attend their public talks, pass out information and talk to people about PR at events, etc.
Why is PR important to you? Contribute to the Canadians4PR blog!
Sources of information:
The following sources of information on voting system reform and Proportional Representation are based on evidence from democracies that use systems of PR around the world.
Fair Vote Canada’s Website – Excellent information and sources of information about Proportional Representation. Everything you need to know and every question you might ask is pretty much covered here.
Every Voter Counts Alliance – An alliance of organizations and individuals in support of Proportional Representation.
VotePRBC – Because of their recent referendum, the VotePRBC website is full of great information on three different systems of PR. They also have a great blog featuring a cross-section of Canadians and voting reform issues.
Samara Centre for Democracy – Has great descriptions of many types of voting systems and how they affect different aspects of voting such as what ridings look like, what ballots look like, how they affect campaigning and voter behaviour, etc.
Facebook Pages to Like
- Canadians for a Proportional Voting System
- Fair Vote Canada/Représentation équitable au Canada – join over 34,000 Canadians staying informed with Fair Vote Canada on FB. Like your local chapter too!