Democratic deficit in Canada
In Canada, the democratic deficit is mostly common in the legislative process and political context. In any democratic country, a democratic deficit occurs when a government fails to execute its legislative powers according to the expectations. The First-past-the-post electoral system which is adopted in Canada is considered a democratic deficit. To alleviate the democratic deficit, the electoral system should be replaced by a system whereby there is a mixed-member proportion. The mixed-member proportion system retains single-member constituencies and reduces the number of FPTP candidates by a third in the parliament (Pilon, 2017).
Poor voting systems in the party systems adopted in Canada also contribute to the democratic deficit. Democratic deficit in party systems is characterized by low voter turn-out and the low number of women and minority representatives in the government. Gender equality and minority representation in the political parties should be adopted to alleviate the democratic deficit.
Reference
Pilon, D. (2017). The Contested Origins of Canadian Democracy. Studies in Political Economy, 98(2), 105-123.