What the results of B.C.'s referendum on electoral reform could mean to P.E.I.

The results of a referendum on electoral reform in British Columbia are either a harbinger of what's to come in P.E.I. or have no bearing on how Islanders will vote, depending on which side of the debate you're on.

The results, finalized Dec. 20, showed 61.3 per cent of B.C. voters favour the status quo first-past-the-post electoral system, while 38.7 per cent voted in favour of proportional representation. 

CBC Radio: Island Morning asked representatives on both sides of the debate on P.E.I. for their reaction to the referendum results. 

"We were certainly very pleased," said Gary Morgan, one of a group of West Prince residents fighting against a mixed member proportional voting system on P.E.I. 

"They made a decisive decision that it's a good system and they wanted to keep it." 

'Peculiar brand of politics'

"I don't think political events in British Columbia have really any bearing on the choices Islanders are going to make here," countered Mark Greenan, who was the campaign manager for the P.E.I. Coalition for Proportional Representation.

"Both P.E.I. and B.C. are known for having their own peculiar brand of politics."

The province of P.E.I. plans to hold a referendum on electoral reform in conjunction with the next provincial election. It will ask if Islanders want to switch to an MMP system.

The referendum in B.C. was that province's third vote on the issue. 

The upcoming vote in P.E.I. will also be the Island's third on proportional representation — following a vote in 2005 in which 64 per cent voted for no change, and one 2016 in which 55 per cent voted for MMP.

"A big difference here on P.E.I. is that in our second vote on proportional representation, support for PR went up significantly from the first vote," said Greenan. In B.C. the opposite was true, he said. 

The Liberal government said voter turnout for the 2016 plebiscite, at 36.46 per cent, was too low to trigger change. Morgan said he believed that meant Islanders who didn't vote were "disinterested."

Duelling ideas for better democracy

Morgan said he expects voter turnout to improve this time around, since the vote will be paired with a provincial election. He said he hopes voters will educate themselves on the options, and his group plans to help. 

"The current system has provided us with good, stable government over the years, both nationally and provincially," he said. "Our object and the necessity is that we make sure that people get up, they look at the situation, they understand what they're being asked to consider, and then they go exercise their franchise to show they support the system that we have in place now." 

Greenan said he was "offended" at the idea that turnout in 2016 was too low to effect change, adding the results showed "a clear majority of Islanders support proportional representation." 

"I think Islanders are ready to move forward with proportional representation to make our democracy even better," he said. 

All in the question?

The "yes" or "no" question on the referendum ballot paper will read: "Should Prince Edward Island change its voting system to a mixed member proportional voting system?" 

Will that make the choice easier for Islanders?

"I think it was pretty easy last time," said Greenan. "Islanders already made a choice on this ... I'm cautiously optimistic Islanders are going to choose the only choice on the ballot that can make our democracy even better." 

Morgan said he hopes the P.E.I. referendum puts the debate to rest.

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