Supreme Court won’t hear case contesting constitutionality of Canada’s voting system
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.
The system, set out in the Canada Elections Act, sees the candidate who receives the most votes in a given riding become the member of Parliament.
Fair Voting BC and the Springtide Collective for Democratic Society argued in court that the first-past-the-post system violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of effective representation.
The groups also said the system leads to the under-representation of women and other groups in Parliament, breaching the Charter’s equality rights provision.
The Ontario Superior Court dismissed the challenge in 2023, saying that while a proportional representation system would be a fair alternative to the current approach, it is not required by the Constitution.
The province’s Court of Appeal also rejected the groups’ key arguments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.