Minority opinion

With the federal Liberals edging toward a majority government, the idea that they are earning the right to get more stuff done more quickly is once again getting an airing. That doesn’t mean it’s right.

So-called majorities in Canada simply aren’t. In 2025, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives won 43 per cent of the popular vote, which our electoral system transformed into 64.5 per cent of the seats in the Ontario legislature. In the 2015 federal election, 39.5 per cent of Canadians voted for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals but the party ended up occupying 54 per cent of the House of Commons.

The late Peter Russell, Canada’s foremost political scholar, described these as “false majorities.” He noted that a premier or prime minister with a majority of seats has virtually unchecked power, and their unelected aides wield outsized influence. In a world where authoritarians are gaining, we should be wary of the conditions that allow them to flourish.

If you happen to like the party in a majority position, you’re probably happy to hand it the ability to ram through whatever legislation it wants; if you don’t, you probably feel helpless and voiceless.

Witness the Ford government’s recent plans to sweep away the inconvenience of accountability by exempting huge swaths of government communication from freedom of information laws. Want to know how wealthy developers get land carved out of the Greenbelt? Too bad.

Or consider the federal Liberal government flinging open the doors to foreign students to be post-secondary cash cows for under-funded colleges and universities, only to have their futures thrown into disarray when Trudeau eventually backtracked.

Minority government leaders, by contrast, must temper partisanship to stay in power, making them, in Russell’s words, “more inclusive of opinion in the country.” Ordinary Canadians are often the beneficiaries. Medicare, fairer election spending, the maple leaf flag, national dental care — all came under minority governments.

Yes, minority governments do tend to spend a lot of money to keep everyone happy. No, a majority doesn’t mean less frequent elections, even when such a government has itself introduced fixed election dates. (*cough* Stephen Harper *cough*)

The whole majority-minority obsession is enough to make us look fondly at municipal governments in Ontario. Elected representatives come to our council chambers with the needs of their area and their personal values in mind, and work together to find the best path for Kawartha Lakes as a whole. It’s not perfect, but in the midst of so much other political noise, it can feel like a wonderfully sensible approach.