What is a citizens’ assembly?
A group of residents, usually chosen by lottery to broadly reflect the wider population, who learn about an issue, hear from people with different views, deliberate together and make recommendations.
Make room for a national conversation.
Call for a national citizens’ assembly on electoral reform.
A citizens’ assembly is one possible way for people to examine electoral options, hear different perspectives, and develop recommendations. This example explores how a public invitation might be presented.
The ask
What we’re asking for
In this hypothetical campaign, supporters would call for three things.
Establish an independent assembly
Create a national citizens’ assembly on electoral reform that works independently of government and political parties.
Give people time and information
Give ordinary Canadians structured time, balanced information and a range of perspectives to study the electoral options.
Bring recommendations forward
Have the assembly produce recommendations for consideration by Parliament and public institutions.
A fictional ask for design review. It does not describe a timeline, legislation, or a commitment by any government, party or MP, and it is not a live Fair Vote Canada campaign.
The idea
Why a citizens’ assembly?
Why might one be useful for electoral reform?
Voting systems involve trade-offs between values such as proportionality, local representation and simplicity. An assembly is one way to give people who are not elected under the current rules the time and information to weigh those trade-offs.
What would make one credible?
That would depend on its design: independence, transparent selection of members, balanced information, enough time to deliberate, and a clear public account of how its recommendations would be considered.
Canadian context: British Columbia’s Citizens’ Assembly recommended a form of STV for the province in 2004 (Citizens’ Assembly archive ↗). Research on how citizens’ assemblies perform has not yet been reviewed for this prototype; deeper sourcing is planned.
Take action / Prototype only
Add your voice.
Your action
Ask your federal representative to support an independent national citizens’ assembly on electoral reform.
In a production version, this action could identify your federal representative and prepare a message asking them to support a national citizens’ assembly on electoral reform. In this prototype, no representative is identified and nothing is sent.
Preview the message
Evidence and background
Read as much as you need.
The case for reform is set out elsewhere in this prototype, with sources.
Why proportional representation?
A short introduction to the principle and two ways of putting it into practice.
How closely do votes and seats match under first-past-the-post?
A reading guide to the 2019 results and the riding-by-riding rules behind them.
Explore the evidence
The reading library, with sources and a note on how sure we can be.
Questions
About this campaign
What is a citizens’ assembly?
A group of residents, usually chosen by lottery to broadly reflect the population, who study an issue, deliberate and make recommendations. The details vary from one design to another.
Is this the same as a referendum?
No. In a referendum, all eligible voters vote on a question. A citizens’ assembly is a smaller group that studies an issue in depth and makes recommendations. This demo campaign does not propose a referendum or rule one out.
Why not let Parliament decide directly?
Parliament would still decide. In this hypothetical ask, an assembly would make recommendations for Parliament and public institutions to consider; it would not replace them. The case for an assembly is that it adds a considered public view from people who are not elected under the rules being reviewed.
Does this campaign endorse one specific PR model?
No. The demo ask is for a process, not a model. Studying the options would be the assembly’s work. This prototype introduces MMP and STV without recommending either.
Is this a real campaign?
No. It is a fictional example in an unofficial design prototype. It is not run or endorsed by Fair Vote Canada, and the form on this page does not send or store anything. Visit Fair Vote Canada’s official website for its actual activities.
Beyond this action
Other ways to participate
- View current campaigns
Explore other active scenarios in this prototype.
- Learn about proportional representation
Start with how votes become seats.
- Explore the evidence
Browse reading guides by topic.
- Find local involvement
A planned feature. No lookup or signup is connected.
- Donate on Fair Vote Canada’s official site (official website)
Leaves this prototype. Nothing is collected here.
- Status
- active
- Scope
- Canada-wide
- Type
- Demo campaign, unofficial prototype
- Mock content updated