GUELPH — Guelph candidates in the 2015 federal election will come together at a forum on electoral reform, in an event moderated by the organization Fair Vote Canada.

Green candidate Gord Miller, Liberal candidate Lloyd Longfield and NDP candidate Andrew Seagram will be at Hope House on Sept. 10 to discuss their parties' positions on electoral reform and take questions from the audience.

Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach will not attend the event, citing a scheduling conflict.

Kovach did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the exact nature of the conflict.

Anita Nickerson from Fair Vote Canada will also speak about proportional representation and the organization's effort to lobby the government to reform the first-past-the-post electoral system.

Fair Vote Canada believes that under the current system, where the candidate in each riding with the most votes wins and second and third place finishers get nothing, most voters end up represented by an MP they do not choose.

Under proportional representation, the number of seats won by a party is proportional to the number of votes received.

If, for example, a party gets 30 per cent of the vote, they would get roughly 30 per cent of the seats.

The event is free and open to the public, and runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Hope House in downtown Guelph.

editor@guelphmercury.com