Not so much. PR wouldn't give them much more than they stand to win now. In fact, PR would hurt the Cons by eroding their regional base (in Alberta, for example, the Conservatives were able to capture 98 per cent of the seats with just 60 per cent of the vote). The chief beneficiaries of PR would be parties like the NDP and the Greens that don't have centralized support.
The thing is, I don't think it would hurt the tories. In most elections they get less seats than they would have under PR. And under PR they would get seats in every province, unlike the present system, which can make it hard for them to win many or even any seats in provinces where they do actually have support, but where the Liberals are dominant. So while I don't think it would be a big winner for them I think it could help them a little More importantly, it would really hurt the Liberals. It would make it almost impossible for the Liberals to win a majority government, thus robbing them of their arrogant freedom as Canada's natural governing party. Would the Tories have more power and influence in a series of minority governments, though, and a better chance of putting together a coallition, or would the NDP be the deal makers, able to ensure a continued leftist slanted minority coallition with the Liberals? I wonder how the scenarios would play out, and what new parties would emerge under such a system.
If you were a patriot, you'd be asking whether a PR-based electoral system would be good for Canada.
If you had a global outlook, you'd be asking what PR-based models exist in the world, and what aspects of those models Canada might a made-in-Canada electoral system benefit from.
If you had an historical outlook, you'd be asking questions like whether Canada's current electoral system was adopted during a time when Canada had two major political parties or four.
If you had an economics-based outlook, you'd be asking whether an electoral system has, in fact, much impact at all on the Canadian economy, compared to, say, the price of oil and other raw materials.
If you had a trends-based outlook, you might wonder how many countries have recently adopted our electoral system versus a PR-based system. Perhaps Iraq might come to mind.
If you disliked corrupt Liberals, you'd be asking how Chretien was able to obtain three straight majorities while never receiving more than about 40% of the popular vote.
If you disliked tax & spend NDPers, you'd be asking how Bob Rae was able to enjoy a 5-year majority government in Ontario with only 37% support, and how BC's Glen Clark was handed a majority in 1996 after receiving _fewer_ votes than the Liberals and only 39% support.
If you disliked the Bloc Quebecois, you'd be asking how on earth such a new, radical party bent on the destruction of the country was able to form Her Majesty's Not-So-Loyal Opposition in 1993. And how it was that they were going to prevent the next Prime Minister from having much -- if any -- representation in Cabinet.
If you ever found yourself blaming Mike Harris for all of the woes of Ontario, you might ask yourself how he was able to ram through his Common Sense Revolution without once obtaining a majority of the votes.
And if you were more intellectually honest, you might have asked yourself whether you had actually seriously studied the issue of electoral reform, or whether you just wanted to have a point of view for the sake of having one. Maybe, just maybe, you were just too busy viewing every issue under the Sun as a conflict of visions -- where oddly, your particular vision always happened to be the Right One.
