What is the main electoral system used in federal elections in Canada?
a) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
b) Proportional Representation (PR)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)
Answer: a
In the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system, how is the winner determined in each electoral district?
a) By the candidate with the most first-choice votes
b) By averaging the total votes of all candidates
c) By a runoff election between the top two candidates
d) By proportional allocation of seats
Answer: a
What is the term used for the area represented by a single elected member of a legislative body?
a) Constituency
b) Province
c) District
d) Region
Answer: a
Which of the following is a disadvantage of the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system?
a) It ensures proportional representation
b) It may lead to wasted votes
c) It requires complex ballot design
d) It encourages coalition governments
Answer: b
What is the term for a situation in which no single party has a majority of seats in a legislative body?
a) Majority government
b) Minority government
c) Coalition government
d) Bipartisan government
Answer: b
Which electoral system aims to allocate seats in proportion to the percentage of votes each party receives?
a) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
b) Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Closed List Proportional Representation
Answer: b
How does the Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system work?
a) Voters rank candidates in order of preference
b) Voters cast a single vote for their preferred party
c) Voters choose candidates from multiple parties
d) Voters cast two votes: one for a candidate and one for a party
Answer: d
Which electoral system involves ranking candidates in order of preference and redistributing votes?
a) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
b) Proportional Representation (PR)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Alternative Vote (AV)
Answer: c
How does the Alternative Vote (AV) system work?
a) Voters rank parties in order of preference
b) Voters cast multiple votes for different candidates
c) Voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate
d) Voters select candidates from a closed party list
Answer: c
What is the purpose of a preferential ballot in the Alternative Vote (AV) system?
a) To ensure proportional representation
b) To allow voters to choose multiple candidates
c) To eliminate the need for a runoff election
d) To accommodate voters’ order of preference
Answer: d
Which Canadian province uses the Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system for its provincial elections?
a) Ontario
b) British Columbia
c) Quebec
d) Alberta
Answer: a
In the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, what happens to surplus votes of elected candidates?
a) They are transferred to other constituencies
b) They are redistributed to other candidates based on voters’ second choices
c) They are eliminated from the count
d) They are added to the winning candidate’s total votes
Answer: b
Which electoral system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference?
a) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
b) Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Closed List Proportional Representation
Answer: c
Which electoral system is designed to maximize the correlation between votes and seats?
a) Proportional Representation (PR)
b) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Alternative Vote (AV)
Answer: a
What is the main advantage of the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) electoral system?
a) It ensures proportional representation
b) It minimizes wasted votes
c) It allows voters to rank candidates
d) It encourages coalition governments
Answer: b
What is the role of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada?
a) To lead the political party with the most seats
b) To administer federal elections and referendums
c) To appoint members of the Senate
d) To serve as the head of state
Answer: b
What is a by-election in the context of Canadian politics?
a) A general election held across the entire country
b) An election for the position of Prime Minister
c) An election held in a single electoral district to fill a vacancy
d) An election to choose members of the Senate
Answer: c
How often are federal elections typically held in Canada?
a) Every year
b) Every two years
c) Every four years
d) Every six years
Answer: c
What is the term used to describe the act of drawing electoral district boundaries in a way that favors a particular political party?
a) Gerrymandering
b) Redistricting
c) Reapportionment
d) Representation
Answer: a
How is the number of seats allocated to each province in the House of Commons determined?
a) By the number of registered voters in each province
b) By the population of each province
c) By the geographic size of each province
d) By the number of seats in the Senate
Answer: b
What is the concept of the “wasted vote” in an electoral system?
a) A vote that is cast by an ineligible voter
b) A vote that is invalid due to incorrect marking of the ballot
c) A vote that does not contribute to electing a candidate
d) A vote that is cast for multiple candidates
Answer: c
In a proportional representation system, how are seats allocated to political parties?
a) Based on the total number of registered voters
b) Based on the percentage of the popular vote each party receives
c) Based on the number of seats won by each party in previous elections
d) Based on the number of seats in the Senate
Answer: b
Which Canadian province uses a ranked-choice voting system for its provincial elections?
a) Ontario
b) British Columbia
c) Quebec
d) Prince Edward Island
Answer: d
What is the purpose of an “overhang” seat in a proportional representation system?
a) To prevent any party from gaining a majority
b) To ensure that every party has an equal number of seats
c) To accommodate parties that win more seats in districts than their proportional share
d) To maintain a balance between rural and urban representation
Answer: c
In the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, what is the quota for winning a seat?
a) 50% of the votes
b) 25% of the votes
c) The total number of votes cast
d) The total number of seats available
Answer: a
What is the purpose of the “exhausted ballot” in the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system?
a) To discard invalid ballots
b) To eliminate votes for the least popular candidates
c) To redistribute surplus votes
d) To prevent overrepresentation of a particular party
Answer: b
How does the preferential ballot work in the Alternative Vote (AV) system?
a) Voters rank candidates by order of preference
b) Voters select candidates from a closed party list
c) Voters cast multiple votes for different candidates
d) Voters choose a single candidate without ranking
Answer: a
What is the role of the Electoral Boundaries Commissions in Canada?
a) To oversee political party campaigns
b) To enforce campaign finance regulations
c) To draw electoral district boundaries
d) To appoint members of the Senate
Answer: c
How are senators appointed in Canada’s federal system?
a) They are elected by the people in general elections
b) They are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister
c) They are selected by provincial premiers
d) They are chosen based on their previous government experience
Answer: b
What is the “winning formula” used in the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system to determine the number of votes needed to win a seat?
a) Majority of first-choice votes
b) Proportional share of votes
c) Droop quota
d) Absolute majority
Answer: c
How does the closed list system work in a proportional representation electoral system?
a) Voters choose individual candidates from different parties
b) Voters rank candidates in order of preference
c) Voters cast a single vote for a preferred party
d) Voters elect multiple candidates in each district
Answer: c
What is the purpose of the Chief Electoral Officer’s office during an election?
a) To run for political office
b) To oversee and administer the election process
c) To act as a liaison between political parties
d) To represent a specific political party
Answer: b
In the context of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, what is a “surplus”?
a) Extra seats allocated to a party
b) Votes cast for eliminated candidates
c) Votes in excess of the quota for electing a candidate
d) Seats that are left vacant
Answer: c
Which electoral system aims to balance the benefits of both proportional representation and the First-Past-the-Post system?
a) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
b) Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)
c) Alternative Vote (AV)
d) Closed List Proportional Representation
Answer: b
What is a “constituency association” in Canadian politics?
a) A political party’s headquarters
b) A group of candidates running for office
c) An organization that supports a specific party in a particular electoral district
d) A government agency responsible for administering elections
Answer: c
What is the term for a situation in which the winning candidate does not receive an absolute majority of votes?
a) Plurality
b) Majority
c) Coalition
d) Runoff
Answer: a
What is the role of Elections Canada?
a) To appoint members of the Senate
b) To draw electoral district boundaries
c) To enforce campaign finance regulations
d) To administer federal elections and referendums
Answer: d
How does the Alternative Vote (AV) system address the issue of wasted votes?
a) By eliminating multiple rounds of voting
b) By reallocating votes from eliminated candidates
c) By allowing voters to choose more than one candidate
d) By using proportional representation
Answer: b
Which of the following countries does NOT use a proportional representation electoral system?
a) Germany
b) New Zealand
c) United Kingdom
d) Netherlands
Answer: c
What is the purpose of the “Single Non-Transferable Vote” (SNTV) system?
a) To eliminate the need for elections
b) To allocate seats proportionally
c) To elect a single candidate in a multi-member district
d) To encourage coalition governments
Answer: c
In the context of the Alternative Vote (AV) system, what is an “instant runoff”?
a) A method of counting ballots in a single round
b) A process of redistributing surplus votes
c) A process of redistributing votes from eliminated candidates
d) A process of allocating seats proportionally
Answer: a
Which electoral system is often criticized for leading to a two-party system and suppressing smaller parties?
a) Proportional Representation (PR)
b) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)
Answer: b
What is the role of the Governor General in the Canadian electoral system?
a) To lead the political party with the most seats
b) To appoint members of the Senate
c) To dissolve Parliament and call elections
d) To oversee electoral campaigns
Answer: c
How is voter turnout calculated?
a) By counting the number of eligible voters
b) By counting the number of registered voters
c) By counting the number of ballots cast
d) By counting the number of political parties
Answer: c
Which of the following is an example of a preferential voting system?
a) First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
b) Proportional Representation (PR)
c) Single Transferable Vote (STV)
d) Closed List Proportional Representation
Answer: c
How does the “single-member plurality” system differ from First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)?
a) It allows voters to choose multiple candidates
b) It uses ranked-choice voting
c) It requires candidates to win an absolute majority
d) It allows candidates to represent multiple districts
Answer: b
In the context of electoral systems, what is the role of an “electoral threshold”?
a) To ensure a fair allocation of seats
b) To prevent gerrymandering
c) To determine the size of electoral districts
d) To set a minimum percentage of votes for parties to win seats
Answer: d
Which Canadian province uses a parallel electoral system that combines both First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) and proportional representation?
a) Ontario
b) British Columbia
c) Quebec
d) Alberta
Answer: b
How does the “Single Non-Transferable Vote” (SNTV) system work?
a) Voters rank candidates in order of preference
b) Voters cast multiple votes for different candidates
c) Voters choose candidates from a closed party list
d) Voters cast a single vote for a preferred party
Answer: b
What is the primary goal of proportional representation electoral systems?
a) To encourage a two-party system
b) To maximize the number of majority governments
c) To ensure a strong relationship between voters and elected representatives
d) To allocate seats in a way that reflects the percentage of votes each party receives
Answer: d
