up 4.4 per cent, and 1.7 per cent in 1988. (Howe & Northrup, 2000) With visible minorities making up 11 per cent of the population, the under-representation of visible minorities is as serious as that of Canadian women. However only 35 per cent of Canadians feel that this is a problem, but almost half feel that parties should be required to elect more visible minority candidates. (Howe & Northrup, 2000) Canada’s Aboriginal people are a group that has been grossly under-represented by government throughout Canadian history. “As the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples reported, of the approximately 11 000 MPs elected since Confederation, only 13 have been self- identified as Aboriginal.” (Howe & Northrup, 2000) The Lortie Commission’s proposal to this problem was to set aside seats in the House, specifically for Aboriginal representatives. A solid majority of Canadians (57 percent)” (Howe & Northrup, 2000) thought that was a good solution for this obvious problematic mis-representation. This evidence shows that the representation that all of Canada’s minority groups receive a disproportionate amount of representation in Parliament when compared to the rest of Canada. It is also clear that most Canadians feel that something should be done to allow and ensure that the House of Commons is more diversified.Voter turnout in Canada is also at the forefront of Canadian democracy. Many Canadians feel that democracy does not serve its purpose if it is not being used to serve the whole of a country. “In the 1997 federal election, only 67 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot, the lowest figure in a federal election since 1925.” (Howe & Northrup, 2000) Canadians feel that there are many reasons for this. Many non- voters believe there is simply a lack of choice on the ballot and that all parties are much the same. The plurality system has often been said to discourage voter turnout...
