Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagor
Anyone know how seat numbers are determined?
I've just done a quick search by population and they don't correlate at all.
e.g.
Province, No Seats, Popn (thousands)
Sask, 14, 968
Alberta, 28, 3290
Is it by number of registered voters?
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Each province was given a minimum allotment when they joined confederation, and that number cannot go down for any reason. Thus, some provinces (especially Quebec and PEI) are massively over represented, while others (Alberta, Ontario) are under represented.
And I agree with CC. The odds of a majority government occurring in the near future are very small as long as the BQ is a major player. The Liberals only won their huge majorities in the 90s because the right was fractured. It is now unified, putting the Conservatives on an even keel with the Liberals. The BQ and NDP are strong fringe parties - neither will ever govern, but both are successful enough to prevent Canada's two governing parties from achieving a majority very easily.