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This disconnect between the will of the people and the make-up of government, perpetuated by the first-past-the-post system, has eroded faith in the system and led to disillusionment with establishment politics. It is perhaps young people who understand this most clearly as they are the least likely to vote, or to see themselves as being represented in government.

In the 2013 provincial election, only 48 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 voted — a dismal high-water mark when compared to the 27 per cent of youth that turned out in 2001. The first-past-the-post system creates an environment where voters are caught in an endless cycle of strategic voting for the “least worst” option. A half measure with limited results, strategic voting turns allies against each other, creates a toxic election process, and distracts from the issues. Under these conditions, who can blame young people (and many others) for taking a pass on the vote?

Adopting a fair election system based on proportional representation, where the amount of votes a party gets equals the number of seats in the legislature, is the best choice for a truly democratic system. Fortunately, there is a big appetite for a change to this model. The movement for electoral reform in our province has spanned well over two decades and today polls show that across all age groups and all parties, the majority of people in B.C. support a change to the electoral system.

You will hear those opposed to proportional representation attempting to stoke fear of minority or coalition governments, a likely outcome of representative democracy. But these governments have been working well for decades in modern democracies throughout the world. Claims that “fringe” parties will creep into our legislature as a result of proportional representation are also unfounded. With a simple electoral threshold like five per cent, smaller parties are restricted from representation in government until they establish this minimum share of the vote.