Before the Bloc Quebecois’ near total collapse in the last election they had wanted Quebec to be guaranteed 25 percent of the seats which is a larger share than their population warrants. Observers pointed out that they would be the party most benefiting from more seats going to Quebec. With the Bloc largely out of the national picture this argument is now being championed by the NDP who hold 59 of Quebec’s 75 seats. The NDP has proposed that Quebec’s share be fixed at 24.4 percent which matches their segment of the Canadian population from 2006. This is a higher number than what they currently hold. Because it is fixed it would remain an inflated total as the Quebec population slowly declines relative to Ontario, Alberta and BC.

The argument is that the NDP proposal is in the same spirit as Parliament’s symbolic recognition of the Quebecois representing their own distinct nation. This would make more sense if every person in Quebec was Quebecois but this is not the case. Because a sizable chunk of Quebec’s population is not Quebecois perhaps it would be most in spirit of the NDP’s counter-proposal if Quebecois voters were allowed to vote 1.2 times. Giving some people a disproportionate share of the vote does not make sense at the individual level, so why is this taken seriously at the national level?

For every concession and extra seat awarded to Quebec something is taken away from all the other provinces -- BC, Alberta and Ontario being hit hardest. If Parliament is supposed to be democratic then a Canadian voter should be able to have his vote treated equally no matter what province he lives in or language he speaks. It is also true that Atlantic Canada (particularly PEI) as well as Manitoba and Saskatchewan are overrepresented in the House. No one is seriously proposing they should have seats deducted and neither should Quebec. Rather by adding seats to the three provinces that have seen their population growth outstrip their representation it begins a slow process of equality between the provinces. If one province is permanently allowed to punch far above their weight in the House than all others lose out, and that is simply not fair.