Any overhaul to Canada's federal election system should be ultimately decided upon by Canadians. That's the feeling of the Conservatives, including Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Bergen, as the government looks at electoral reform. The Liberal's have decided to form a committee to deal with the issue, and also announced they won't be holding a referendum on the issue. Bergen says they're open to the idea of changing the system, but says it shouldn't be done by the government alone.

"There are a number of benefits of different types of systems. I think there are benefits to the current system we have, but it's up to the government to present their plan to the Canadian people in a very detailed way, and then ask the Canadian people what they think of the plan."

She feels the number of Canadians who didn't vote Liberal really demonstrates the need for a referendum, because while they formed a majority government, only 39 per cent of Canadians voted for the party.

"The fact is the Liberals, under the system they now say isn't valid gave them 39 per cent of the popular vote. That means millions and millions of Canadians, and didn't vote for a change that they don't even know what it might be. The best way to solve this, and the best way for the government to know, is to go to Canadians directly."

It's not just a lack of referendum Bergen's concerned about. She says the committee that was formed features a Liberal majority, which she calls a concerning trend with the current government.

"We've seen what they do with majorities on committees. They just did it last week with the assisted-dying bill, where they limited debate, refused to accept any amendments, and just rammed the legislation through a committee. It's very concerning this committee is just being set up to rubber stamp what the Liberal government wants to do."

In the last five elections, the government's were formed with under 40 per cent of the popular vote. The last time a party received more than 50 per cent of the vote was in 1984, when the 50.03 per cent of Canadians voted for the Progressive Conservative Party. The party to receive the highest per cent of votes was in 1917, when the Robert Borden Government received 57 per cent of the popular vote during the war-time election.