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The 180

DEBATE: Should we play Last Post for First-Past-the-Post?

Justin Trudeau says that if his party is elected, this will be the last parliament decided by first-past-the-post electoral system. Great news, according to Political Scientist David Moscrop, who says the system is broken. But the U of T's Peter Loewen says first-past-the-post beats the alternative.
CBC News ·
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has pledged to hold all-party consultations on electoral reform if elected, and is on the record as supporting a preferential ballot. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The 18012:17Should we say farewell to first-past-the-post?

Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau wants to do away with Canada's first-past-the-post voting system and replace it with a new system that better reflects the intentions of voters.

We know many of our listeners have strong opinions about the way we vote: during our series "Democracy Hacks," we received plenty of ideas on how to make election outcomes more representative of the actual votes cast by Canadians.
  
But we rarely hear a good, solid defence of the old-fashioned first-past-the-post system. So we thought it was time for a debate on the question: should first-past-the-post be chucked out the door?
    
Peter Loewen, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, argues no. 

You've got effectiveness and you've got accountability. Those are the two really big benefits that experts give to first-past-the-post.- Peter Loewen

David Moscrop, a PhD candidate in political science at the University of British Columbia, says yes. 

Under this [proportional representation] system, parties are forced to appeal to a broader group of people... and you're going to have to have a broader range of policy that can do that.- David Moscrop

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