Review of the NFB Documentary "A Losing Game"

 TLDR

Québec’s political system favours the powerful and sidelines diverse voices—much like in Saskatchewan. This revealing video exposes how Québec falls short on fair representation, media access, and electoral reform. A must-watch for anyone questioning the state of democracy in Canada.

Directed by Jenny Cartwright - 2025 | 97 min

Summary

The critique of politics in Québec highlights a deeply entrenched imbalance in its democratic system. While nearly all adults can vote, real political power remains concentrated in the hands of a privileged few. Reforms in political party financing have disproportionately hurt minor parties, as public subsidies now depend heavily on previous election results, ignoring abstention and rejected ballots. This means that even those who do not vote still contribute financially to dominant parties, perpetuating their power.

Québec’s first-past-the-post electoral system is central to this inequity. Despite being simple to use, it produces distorted results, often awarding majority governments that do not reflect the popular vote. Since 1867, only five parties have held power, marginalizing new voices and ideas. Promises of electoral reform have repeatedly been broken, most recently by François Legault’s government.

Minor parties and marginalized communities—racialized people, women, youth, the disabled, and working-class citizens—remain underrepresented, not due to a lack of interest, but because systemic barriers and media exclusion prevent their visibility. The media, which prioritizes ratings over representation, favors major parties and sensational coverage over substantive debate.

The political system reinforces a cycle where established elites maintain control, silencing alternative visions and contributing to public disengagement. Voter turnout suffers, yet abstentions still fuel the very system many protest. In this context, the lack of meaningful diversity in the National Assembly leads to out-of-touch governance, where policies often fail to address lived realities. Ultimately, Québec’s democracy, as it stands, fails to reflect its people.

Windigo Thinking

First, my apologies to Darrens who know how to share. Robin Wall Kimmerer tells of a stand in her community where gardeners shared excess produce. Someone stole the stand, ending the sharing. She named the thief Darren comparing him to Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, who takes more than he needs. In 2024, Woods’ pay was $44.1 million—equal to 801 Canadians’ annual earnings.

Modified image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Kimmerer’s Potawatomi culture teaches about the monster Windigo “who suffers from the illness of taking too much and sharing too little.” “Windigo thinking jeopardizes the survival of the community by incentivizing individual accumulation far beyond the satisfaction of ‘enoughness.’” Produce Stand Darren and Profit First Darren are Windigo thinkers.

How many Darrens with Windigo thinking did we elect to our House of Commons? The cost of entering the race suggests many. Darrens must give up paychecks and have an employer willing to grant leave. Then they need Darren-like donors (who benefit from tax credits). How can we reform our system so Darrens don’t dominate?

Proportional representation (PR) produces more diversity because it allocates seats by vote share. This leads to legislatures that better reflect our identities and perspectives. While there are Darrens in the legislature, there are also Alices, Benjamins, Chen, Deepa, Ethans… In 2025, Saskatchewan elected 13 Caseys and 1 Lane. With PR, we’d have elected 9 Caseys, 3 Lanes, and 1 Nicky or benefited from more diversity without strategic voting.

Support electoral reform with PR. Visit FairVote.ca or CharterChallenge.ca to learn how.

Democracy Needs More Women in the Room

 The documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles how Liberian women used nonviolent protest to end 14 years of civil war. After pressuring the male president and male rebels into peace talks, they blocked the exits when negotiations stalled, forcing the men to stay until an agreement was reached. Having endured years of restriction, often without basic necessities, the women wanted the men in the room to taste that same hardship. 

Screengrab from Pray the Devil Back to Hell

What the documentary does not show are the countless hours the women spent after each protest, reflecting and strategizing. One organizer reflected, “If we had not had different women from different walks of life banding together, we may not have been able to solve the problem.” At its core, democracy exists to address the problems of its people. It flourishes when diverse voices are heard, and inclusive decision-making fosters policies that are both equitable and responsive to all.

Countries with proportional representation (PR) elect more women to the legislature, bringing a shift in legislative priorities. Research shows that women in government are more likely to champion policies that support education, healthcare, family well-being, and social equity. They also prioritize collaboration and long-term solutions over partisan conflict. With more women in the room, diverse problem-solving approaches lead to stronger, more equitable policies—this is, in essence, real democracy.

This federal election, ask you candidates if they support electoral reform with proportional representation. Visit FairVote.ca and/or CharterChallenge.ca to learn more.

Rising Billionaires and Receding Democracy

Have you lived a billion seconds? Hint: You’ve lived a million seconds if you are 12 days old. If you’ve lived a billion seconds, you are almost 32.

Now, imagine if dollars were seconds and your lifetime earnings were $2.2 million. How many days is that? About 26 days. But billionaires? They’ve got 32 years' worth of dollars to burn. They only need to spend 12 days' worth to flood election campaigns with donations, channel lobbyists into key positions, and submerge politicians in a tide of influence. With just a 0.00094 of their fortune, they shape policies, cut themselves tax breaks, and rig the system in their favor.

Under first-past-the-post (FPTP), winning isn’t about representing the most people; it’s about gaming the system. A party can win total control with just 39% of the vote, leaving the majority without a voice. And who benefits? The ultra-rich.

Modified mage by Alex Yomare from Pixabay

Proportional representation (PR) is a remedy. PR ensures seats match votes, making it harder for wealthy donors to buy governments. More diverse voices in the legislature mean fewer policies to benefit the wealthy and more policies that serve people and the planet.

If you’re tired of a democracy that prioritizes profit over people and our planet, support PR. It’s time to reclaim our democracy for everyone. With electoral reform through PR, we can take the next step—transforming our economy from a linear system of extraction and exploitation to a circular one centered on sustainability and justice. Visit FairVote.ca and/or CharterChallenge.ca.

Quality of Democracy Envy

  Do you distinguish between jealousy and envy? I do. Jealousy is wanting something someone else has and not wanting them to have it. Envy, on the other hand, is wanting something someone else has while being fine with them having it too.

I envy the quality of democracy in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. These countries, among others, use proportional representation (PR) to elect their national legislatures. PR ensures political parties win seats based on the percentage of votes they receive. This system encourages people to vote because they know their vote truly counts. In Canada, a dispiriting 50% votes elect no one; in Belgium, it’s less than 5%.

PR systems lead to higher voter turnout (especially among younger people), more diverse representation (in terms of age, gender, and occupation), and greater voter satisfaction. With more women in legislatures and a structure that encourages cooperation over competition, PR fosters collaboration. This leads to thoughtful, long-term legislation that builds voter trust. Greater trust, in turn, leads to increased civic engagement—a key indicator of a healthy democracy.

As the Saskatchewan election approaches, ask your candidates if they support electoral reform with PR. If they don’t, ask how they plan to improve civic engagement and the quality of our democracy. Share your conversations with facebook.com/FairVoteSask and learn more at FairVote.ca.

Success Promoting PR at Saskatoon Pride

 At our Saskatoon Pride booth, we drew inspiration from a Fair Vote Canada session that used Lego to illustrate the math behind first-past-the-post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR). The speaker's dramatic gesture of sweeping wasted votes into a garbage can had a profound impact on me. Could I replicate this visceral experience for voters? Absolutely!

I prepared two garbage containers labeled “Winners” and “Wasted” and brought my Tile Rummy game. We asked visitors, “Did the candidate you voted for in the last provincial or federal election win?” (Emphasizing that we were not interested in the candidate or the party.) Those who answered “Yes, my candidate won,” picked a black tile and tossed it into the Winners bucket. Those who answered “No,” picked a colored tile and tossed it into the Wasted bucket. Many of the “No” respondents shared my sense of the unfairness of wasted votes.

Next, we compared the number of tiles in each bucket. This comparison often led to a “Really?” moment for both “No” and “Yes” voters. Even though we clarified that our sample at Pride was not representative of the general electorate, many were surprised by the outcome. If our tiles represented an election, 10 voters would have picked the winner, while 79 votes would have been wasted.

FPTP Wasted Votes 79 to Winner Votes 10

A big thanks to volunteers Lynn and Sherry for personing our booth. We had lively conversations throughout the day with people who asked questions and people who responded to our questions. When things finally quieted down, I thought I could relax and have supper, but I was delighted to put my food aside as more questions came in.

Fair Vote Canada Saskatchewan Chapter at Saskatoon Pride

I’m pleased to report that more people are becoming aware of electoral reform and proportional representation. Let’s celebrate our progress!

Mature Politics with Proportional Representation

Decades ago, one of my children visited Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly. Expecting to learn about governance and democracy, they were instead appalled by chaos and incivility. Elected officials, who were supposed to represent us with dignity, behaved like squabbling children.

Image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay

Recent sessions amplify the worst tantrums of past decades. MLA Ken Francis confessed he gets sucked into trash talk almost daily. Speaker Randy Weekes’ final speech alleged threats and harassment from fellow Saskatchewan Party MLAs. He also alleged Deputy Leader Jeremy Harrison brought a gun into the Assembly.

Premier Scott Moe’s response? Weekes is a “sorer loser” and Moe dismisses the alarming allegations against Harrison as false. No investigation necessary. He also categorizes the texts to Weekes as “ambitious” rather than “harassment.” Ambitious? To what purpose? Partisan purposes as the sender attempts to have the non-partisan speaker favour a side?

The first-past-the-post produced Assembly fosters an environment where yelling and intimidation mock dialogue and collaboration. Reform with proportional representation could address these issues. By ensuring that legislative seats more accurately reflect the diverse views of our population, evidence proves proportional representation encourages coalition-building and cooperation. Instead of a winner-takes-all approach that fuels partisanship, this system promotes a more inclusive and respectful political culture.

Proportional representation offers a path to a more mature and effective legislative process. To improve our democracy in provincial and federal elections, vote for candidates who will enact electoral reform with proportional representation. Learn more at FairVote.ca or facebook.com/FairVoteSask.