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Two years ago, the National Post published a feature arguing the merits of First Past the Post. The arguments were so persuasive that they may or may not have factored into Justin Trudeau’s decision to immediately abandon his 2015 election promise to pursue electoral reform.

Now, with another electoral reform push underway in B.C., here is an updated version of the post, with even more compelling reasons as to why First Past the Post is great and proportional representation isn’t the magical bringer of wisdom and justice that its proponents promise.

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Note: This feature is going to be pretty heavily biased against proportional representation. For the other view, please read one of the many pro-PR columns that Andrew Coyne keeps writing.

Extremists hate it

Nobody has been more hosed by First Past the Post than Ujjal Dosanjh. Under proportional representation, his B.C. NDP would have emerged from the 2001 provincial election defeated but with a still respectable 17 seats — Dosanjh would have even been able to remain in the legislature as opposition leader. As it was, they actually only won two seats. Still, Dosanjh opposes proportional representation for one overarching reason: It keeps extremists out of the legislature. “Our current First Past the Post system is not only simple, stable and successful, but it keeps the extremist parties out of the B.C. legislature,” Dosanjh told a June press conference.