Parliament exists to serve the needs of the constituents. The constituents are all those people who live in the ridings represented by Members of Parliament. They include children, senior citizens, people on social assistance, people wanting to start a business, people with ideas, people with worries, and people of any political stripe. MPs must represent everyone, whether or not the person voted for them. And in fact, in many ridings across Canada, most of the people in the riding did not vote for the person who represents them. Because there are more than two political parties in Canada, individuals who receive less than half of the votes in their riding are often sent to Parliament. The opinions of all their consitituents should be voiced in Parliament.
