Prince Edward Island
After the 2003 Prince Edward Island electoral reform commission
recommended copying the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly model, an
eight-member Commission on Prince Edward Island’s Electoral Future will
work to educate the public about alternatives to a winner-take-all
voting system. Prince Edward Island’s Commission on Electoral Reform
began in January
of 2003, when Justice Norman Caruthers was appointed to lead an
independent commission to explore electoral reform in the province. He
released a report outlining four models for discussion in April of that
same year. After some public dialogue, a final report was presented in
December 2003, which included nine recommendations to be considered by
the government of Prince Edward Island, especially choice voting and a mixed-member system. Read a CBC
article about the Commission's Report and view a brief history of
electoral reform in the province.On February 14, 2005, PEI's Legislative Assembly appointed an eight-member Commission on Prince Edward Island’s Electoral Future. The Commission's duties will closely mirror those of British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly. The members will be drawn from across the Island's geographical and political spectrum. They were asked to:
- Develop and conduct a public education program to increase awareness of the present “first past the post” electoral system and an alternate mixed-member proportional system as discussed in the Report of the Prince Edward Island Electoral Reform Commission;
- Develop a clear and concise plebiscite question on which electoral system Islanders prefer; and
- Recommend when a plebiscite on this matter should be held.