In the aftermath of Canada's recent lacklustre election, an analysis from Fair Vote Canada crunched the numbers this way:

1. The NDP attracted 1.1 million more votes than the Bloc, but the voting system gave the Bloc 50 seats, the NDP 37.

2. 940,000 voters supporting the Green Party sent no one to Parliament. By comparison, 813,000 Conservative voters in Alberta were able to elect 27 MPs.

3. Had the votes on October 14 been cast under a fair and proportional voting system, the seat allocation would have been approximately as follows:
Conservatives - 117 seats (not 143)
Liberals - 81 seats (not 76)
NDP - 57 seats (not 37)
Bloc - 28 seats (not 50)
Greens - 23 seats (not 0)

This election, only 59.1 percent - or 13.8 million out of 23.4 million - of eligible voters actually voted, a historic low in Canada. While voting is a right that should be exercised, perhaps more people would vote if they felt their vote were better reflected in the outcome of the election through proportional representation.

Hear, hear.