#ThickTrunkTuesday is now trending across Mastodon

## **Upcoming Fair Vote Canada webinars** ### **Proportional Representation for BC – time for action!** ****On November 26, 2025, BC’s all-party Committee on Democratic and Electoral Reform recommended a Citizens’ Assembly for BC. We need the government to act! Join MLA Rob Botterell, former BC Citizens’ Assembly member Shoni Field, and Professor Dennis Pilon to talk about how citizens’ can help push for action on proportional representation in BC. REGISTER HERE. ## **Recordings of past Fair Vote Canada webinars** # **(Click the pictures below to watch the webinars. See more on ourYouTube channel)** ### **Proportional Representation 101** Are you new to electoral reform and want to get up to speed on the basics of proportional representation? How do the most popular systems recommended in Canada work? What about “ranked ballots”? Check out “Proportional Representation: A Crash Course” webinar with electoral reform expert Professor Dennis Pilon. Watch the video here. ### **Proportional representation in New Zealand, Ireland and Denmark** A conversation with three Canadians originally from countries with proportional representation. Trisha, Heino and Emerson will share their firsthand, practical experience of how PR makes a difference for democracy. Watch here. ### **The Crisis in Canadian Democracy, with Andrew Coyne and Dennis Pilon** Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne, author of The Crisis of Canadian Democracy, and Professor Dennis Pilon to break down the problems with Canada’s democracy and the solutions, including proportional representation. Watch here. ### **Tackling Polarization and Strengthening Democracy** Deeply polarized politics pits “us” against “them”, neighbour against neighbour. This kind of polarization is on the rise in Canada. What is happening and what can we do? Special guests: Jennifer McCoy, professor of political science at Georgia State University and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kamil Bernaerts, researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and University of Warwick (UK) and David Moscrop, author of “Too Dumb for Democracy? Why we Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones”. **Watch the webinar recording here.** ### **Our Democratic Futures: Electoral Reform in the US, Canada and the UK** Featuring leading experts in and campaigners for electoral reform from Canada, the US, and the US discussed the different issues each country has with their winner-take-all elections, how transitioning to proportional representation can help address these issues, and what the routes to reform in each country look like. Watch the webinar recording here. ### **Sunday March 17, 7 PM ET: Making progress on electoral reform: Lessons learned and reasons for hope** What are the most important lessons the electoral reform movement has learned in our two decades of fighting for proportional representation? How can understanding these lessons make us stronger going forward? What progress has been made in Canada, and what evidence-based reasons are there to be hopeful? Watch the webinar recording with one of Canada’s preeminent experts on voting system reform, Dennis Pilon of York University. Professor Pilon has spent decades researching the real world politics of how countries change their voting systems while closely following the campaign for electoral reform in Canada. ### **Winning the vote on Motion M-86: A Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform** Hear from NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron, sponsor of Motion M-86 for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz, and Green MP Mike Morrice about why they supported this motion to improve our democracy. Watch a recording of this webinar here. ### **How did other democracies change their electoral systems?** Electoral reform expert Dennis Pilon looks at the real world politics behind how countries adopted proportional representation, the role of multi-party agreements, and what reformers can learn from history. Associate Professor Dennis Pilon is author of two books and many chapters and journal articles on the history and politics of electoral reform in Canada and around the world. ### **Denmark’s democracy: what can we learn? ** ****Denmark ranks near the top of every democracy index in the world. In an era where satisfaction with democracy is declining all over the world, Denmark is one of seven countries where satisfaction is actually increasing. What are the Danes doing right? What can we learn from them as we work to make democracy in Canada fairer, more inclusive and more resilient? ### **Polarization in democracy: What’s happening and what can we do? ** Political polarization and extremism in Canadian politics is on the rise. Many are concerned about the tone of our politics and the consequences of politicians from all sides who fan the flames of division. Our expert guests discussed the problems facing democracy and solutions that can bring people together. ### **Electoral reform referendums: A tool for informed decision-making? ** This webinar takes a deep dive into some of the best research of the last 20 years, looking at the formidable forces that drive the vote in referendum campaigns. Referendums are not the politically-neutral, democratic tool that they are often presented as. Guest: Dr. Lawrence Leduc. ### **Alternative Vote: A solution to the democratic deficit?** Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has recklessly vowed to force through winner-take-all ranked ballots (Alternative Vote) for Ontario—or he’ll resign. What happens in Canada’s most populous province can have a profound impact on the national campaign for proportional representation for years to come. Those who care passionately about seeing PR in Canada—equal votes, fair outcomes and cooperative politics—can’t afford to downplay, ignore or dismiss the Liberal’s ranked ballot scheme. Learn the risks and consequences of the Alternative Vote (non-proportional “ranked ballot”).