Electoral reform implemented under former prime minister Jean Chretien will have an impact in this election, but according to Professor Richard Johnson from the University of British Columbia Bill C-24 could have far more implications than many people realize.
One of Chretien’s final acts as prime minister was to push for electoral reform and his efforts have radically changed political financing and been hailed as a "gift" to democracy by many of the smaller parties, particular the Green Party.
Bill C-24 limits corporate and union donations to political parties to $1,000 and allows them only at the riding association level, not directly to federal parties.
The law also put a $5,000 limit on individual donations.
But the section of the bill that has rallied many of the minor parties is the legislation that puts a dollar figure on votes.
In this election any party that garners more than two per cent of the vote nationally, or five per cent of the vote in any electoral district, will receive $1.75 per vote.
The legislation has effectively reduced the amount of money the bigger parties have access to and increased the accessibility smaller parties have to election funding, and the Green Party – which is running candidates in all 308 federal ridings – is in the best position to take advantage of this.
In the 2000 election the Green Party won only 0.9 per cent of the vote nationally but polls are now showing the party is at five per cent.
Professor Johnson, who is head of political science at UBC, said the Green Party is in a prominent position not just because of the new legislation but because "we are heading for a hung parliament."
"(The legislation is) certainly very important because basically every vote that a party gets makes for an additional $1.75 from the treasury that will go into the party’s coffers for the next (election)," said Johnson.
"And there’s going to be one within a year because we’re going to have a hung parliament, so brace yourself for a continuous election cycle.
"But this means that there’s a powerful incentive for everybody to get as many candidates available as possible.
"Under other circumstances the Greens might have nominated candidates in a handful of ridings where they thought they saw a real Green vote potential.
"Now they will nominate candidates even if they can barely speak, even if they’re utterly catatonic."
Johnson said he didn’t think electoral financial reform was a decisive thing, but he said it could become so if this election produces a hung parliament.
"We are staring at a hung parliament and my sense at the moment is that the combined number of Liberal and NDP seats is not a majority," he said.
"The Conservatives might have the sway but they will have no one to go along with them… notwithstanding the Bloc being essentially unavailable for any coalition building purposes.
"So we could be looking at another election within a year."
Johnson said a hung parliament would most likely result in Canada’s current first-past-the-post electoral process being scrapped for a proportional voting system.
The basic premise behind the proportional system is that all political groups deserve to be represented in the legislatures in proportion to their strength in the electorate.
"I think that it’s more possible than it has ever been in the history of this country that the major players in the game will have to step back and ask themselves if they can play this game any longer," said Johnston.
"It’s more likely than ever that they will say it’s not working, we need to go to an alternative formula, and once that happens the Greens are in the game big time.
"So in that respect if they can clear a two per cent national threshold, then get their buck-75 per voter; all of a sudden they’ve got a war chest for the next time, and the next time could be 2005."
The Green Party captured some of the spotlight during this election when its leader, Jim Harris, was refused a spot on television for the national debate.
The NDP has also distanced itself from the Green Party in recent weeks because while they might not win any seats, many believe the Greens will sway some of the NDP’s voters in marginal seats.
The Green Party’s West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast candidate, Andrea Goldsmith, campaigned in Squamish last week and she spent most of her time informing residents of the change in legislation.
"It means that your vote counts for more and you can now vote for who you want rather than in protest or against someone," said Goldsmith.
A glimpse at Bill C-24
Contribution limits:
Individuals (citizens or permanent residents) will be allowed to contribute:
• up to $5,000 per year to each registered party and their affiliated entities: registered electoral district associations, candidates and nomination contestants (persons seeking endorsement as a registered party's candidate in an electoral district)
• Corporations that carry on business in Canada, trade unions that hold bargaining rights for employees in Canada and unincorporated associations will be allowed to contribute up to $1,000 per year in aggregate to the candidates, nomination contestants and registered electoral district associations of each registered party.
Public funding:
• Registered political parties that receive at least two per cent of the number of valid votes cast nationally, or five per cent of the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts in which the registered party endorsed a candidate, will be eligible for a quarterly allowance which, on the basis of a full year, will amount to $1.75 per valid vote received by the party in the previous general election.
