When coalition governments get discussed in Canada, pundits too often resort to the hyperbolic language of “constitutional crisis.”

Tasha Kheiriddin’s Dec. 15 column, (‘Oh God … we’re talking about coalitions again’) was no different. She laments the revival of talk about a coalition government in Canada following the next election. In the piece, Kheiriddin intones that coalitions are prone to instability and that a coalition is an unlikely and undesirable option in our current political context.

Unfortunately, talk of coalition governments often unearths many false assumptions. Coalitions are frequently cast as anti-democratic. Like many others, Kheiriddin fails to mention that coalition governments are actually instrumental to our Westminster parliamentary system. When we hold an election in Canada, we elect a Parliament — not a prime minister. And despite appearances, our prime minister is not automatically the leader of the party with the majority of seats. Rather, the leader is whoever can command the confidence of a majority of MPs.

Coalitions are an accepted practice in other Westminster parliaments. Australia’s centre-right parties have formed something of a permanent coalition, and the 2010 election ushered in their most recent coalition government. New Zealand has had coalition governments since 1996. The current UK government is also a coalition, between the Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties.

Here in Canada, receiving as little as 38 per cent of the national vote can grant a “false majority” of seats — and 100 per cent of the power, closely followed by governmental arrogance. A more democratic electoral system is proportional representation (PR), which is used by nearly all modern democracies. Under PR, if the Purple Party gets 20 per cent of the nationwide vote, then the purple party gets 20 per cent of the seats.

The most common form of proportional representation is called Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), where most MPs are elected directly, just as they are now in Canada. MMP differs in the way the seats are adjusted. Seats are added for some parties so that the proportion of seats roughly matches the party’s proportion of the vote. Therefore, most global democracies often have coalition or minority governments; long ago they learned to cooperate, compromise, and share power.

Stephen Harper once defended proportional representation … but now he likes his false majority.

Harper has consistently portrayed coalitions as unelected and anti-democratic, even though he himself has never been ‘elected’ prime minister.

Coalitions have fallen out of favour with the Canadian public in recent years, thanks to a massive misinformation campaign by the Harper Conservatives. Coalitions would have been a viable option at any time between 2006 and 2011. The Canadian media announce that a party leader has “won” a minority and is the new prime minister when, in other Commonwealth nations, media would have reported the 2006 and 2008 elections as a “hung Parliament.” Coalitions are normal in the Westminster parliamentary tradition.

Harper has consistently portrayed coalitions as unelected and anti-democratic, even though he himself has never been “elected” prime minister. When Harper was faced with losing power and the confidence of Parliament in 2008, he accused a proposed coalition – totally legitimate, according to Canadian constitutional law – of trying to “overthrow” the government and “overturn the results of the election.”

In fact, Harper attempted to form a coalition himself with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois to take down the governing Liberals in 2004.

Since coming to power, however, he has rejected any form of cooperation with opposition parties, and has divided the Canadian public whenever possible. Yet he describes opposition attempts to counter his abuse of power as undemocratic and illegitimate. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives rather like swapping power every decade, and shutting out smaller parties. Kheiriddin’s analysis only supports Harper’s favoured characterization of coalition proposals as “constitutional crises,” rather than as legitimate and cooperative power-sharing in Canada’s Westminster system. Parliaments are tasked by Canadian voters to at least try to work together.

Kheiriddin also characterizes coalitions as “notoriously temporary,” citing Italy and Israel as examples. However, those countries are not representative of most coalitions. Finland is another country with a strong tradition of stable coalition governments lasting roughly the same amount of time as a majority government in Canada. I’ve already mentioned New Zealand and Australia. Kheiriddin also notes Germany and Denmark … two of the most prosperous and stable countries in the modern world.

Finally, Kheiriddin asserts that a Canadian coalition is unlikely in this era of excessive partisanship. She also notes that 60 per cent of Canadians would now support a coalition government, if it would mean the end of the Harper government.

Canadians are speaking loud and clear: They are ready for a more cooperative Parliament that reflects their diverse views. They want an end to the politics of division, and the extreme partisanship that harms our democracy.

The Green Party recognizes this desire in the Canadian public. We have always advocated for greater cooperation in Parliament and transcending partisan divisions. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has reached out to party leaders proposing cooperation on issues of mutual interest. In fact, we recently worked across party lines to pass the first piece of Green Party legislation, Bill C-442, which received unanimous support from all parties in both the House of Commons and the Senate.

The Green Party has a policy of cooperating with any party to introduce proportional representation. International Green Parties have also been productive coalition partners in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Cooperation between parties and coalition governments should never be characterized as anti-democratic. It’s time for our politicians to consider truly democratic options. Coalition governments are more likely the solution to our partisan deadlock. Voters do not need to “brace themselves.” Canadians are ready for change.

Bruce Hyer is deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.