About Fair Vote Canada

Email:    office@fairvote.ca

Phone:   416-410-4034

Fax:       416-686-4929

Mail:      Fair Vote Canada, 26 Maryland Blvd., Toronto, ON M4C 5C9.

Introduction

On August 1, 2000, a group of concerned citizens formed Fair Vote Canada (FVC) with the aim of building a nationwide campaign for voting system reform. We envisioned FVC as a multi-partisan, citizen-based campaign bringing together people from all parts of the country, all walks of life and all points on the political spectrum.

Today FVC has members in all provinces and approximately 20 local and regional chapters.

FVC Purpose

the following Statement of Purpose was ratified by members on June 11, 2005:

The purpose of Fair Vote Canada is to gain broad, multi-partisan support for an independent, citizen-driven process to allow Canadians to choose a fair voting system based on the principles that all voters are equal, and that every vote must count.

Fair Vote Canada believes that, in order to provide a fair and equal voice for every citizen, and to accurately reflect the will of the voters, our voting system must be designed to achieve the following objectives:

Proportional representation: The supporters of all political parties should be fairly represented in proportion to the votes they cast. Parties should have no more and no fewer seats than their popular support warrants. There should be no phony majority governments.

Fair representation for women, and for minorities and Aboriginals: Our legislatures should reflect the diversity of our society. To enable this, voting systems must be designed to remove barriers to the nomination and election of those who are under-represented.

Accountable government: Our voting system should give us governance which is stable but responsive, flexible but principled, which reflects the will of the majority, but which respects the rights of all.

Geographic representation: Rural and urban voters must be fairly represented. Provinces and regions must have effective and accountable representation in parliaments and governments, reflecting real geographic communities.

Real voter choice: Our voting system must promote real competition among candidates and political parties. No voter should be disenfranchised for living in a safe riding. No voter should feel compelled to vote strategically for the lesser of evils because the preferred candidate or party has no chance of winning the riding.

FVC Structure

Membership

Sara McMillen, FVC member

FVC is an incorporated non-profit membership organization. Those who support the FVC mission are encouraged to join and become Fair Vote Canada members and support our campaigns.

Governance

FVC is governed by a democratically elected 15-person National Council. Each Council member is elected for a three-year term with five positions being elected each year. Members in good standing are eligible to vote and stand for office. The current list of council members appears on the National Council page.

National Advisory Board

FVC also has a National Advisory Board, comprised of prominent Canadians, who provide advice and support to the campaign. The current list of members appears on the National Advisory Board page.

FVC Chapters

Members living in a common geographic area are encouraged to form FVC chapters. FVC also encourages the formation of special interest caucuses of members (e.g., Students for Fair Voting, Teachers for Fair Voting, Labour for Fair Voting). For contact information on current chapters and caucuses and for information on chapter and caucus formation, see the Chapters and Caucuses page.