'Proportional Representation' refers to any voting system that gives voters what they asked for.  The idea is simply that the seats in government should reflect the way that people voted - proportionally.  So if 10% of voters chose Party X, then Party X should get 10% of the seats. Canada's archaic system is not proportional, so the division of seats in Parliament is out of step with the popular vote.

Proportional representation (PR) is used in 86 countries, including most of Europe.

There are many different models and systems of PR.  Some use party lists, such as the "Mixed Member Proportional" model (MMP).  And some use multi-member districts, such as the Single Transferable Vote model (STV). 

Unlock Democracy aims to increase Canadians' awareness about these alternatives to our current voting system.  Come back to this page soon, for a crash course on these two models.

In the meantime, here are some helpful links and videos!

Wikipedia: Proportional Representation

Electoral Reform Society: "Voting Systems Made Simple"

By CGP Grey: "The Problems with First Past the Post Voting Explained":

By CGP Grey: Mixed-Member Proportional Representation Explained:


STV: Single Transferable Vote explained

John Cleese explains proportional representation: