DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL
(a historically identifiable culture on Prince Edward Island) and there are no visible or cultural minorities represented amongst the elected members (despite there being a relatively large contingent of Aboriginal Islanders and relatively recent Immigrants).
Further three of the recently elected MLAs are aged in their mid-30s, with the balance ranging in age from their mid- 40s to mid-60s.
The fact that 82.22% of the electorate voted in 2015 is testament to the high importance Islanders place in our provincial democracy. In part, I believe this is due to a general willingness to constantly examine our democratic processes and take action when it is deemed beneficial.
Pundits, politicians, and many of the people in the province
felt that although the 2015 election resulted in a strong opposition and arguably the most balanced Legislature the Province has seen in some time, the percentage breakdown of the popular vote was indicative of the need to consider other, more representative, methods of electing the Island’s representatives.
Noting that of the 27
members elected, most did not receive a majority of support in their district; that at least three ridings were decided by a margin of 1% or less (mine having been one of them, with a difference of only 22 votes between the PC candidate and myself following a recount); with one district having been decided by a coin toss, following a tie, after a recount; and that all of the major parties made democratic reform a platform
issue, it is no surprise that the election result fueled further calls to consider democratic reform anew.
Recent History of Democratic Reform on Prince Edward Island I would be remiss not to mention that this is not the first time electoral reform has been considered on Prince Edward Island. In fact, in November 2005 a plebiscite was held asking Islanders “Should Prince Edward Island change to the Mixed Member Proportional System as presented by the Commission on Prince Edward Island’s Electoral Future?” Roughly one third of eligible voters voted in the plebiscite. Of those that voted 36.4% voted ‘Yes’ in favor of the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System and 63.6% voted ‘No’.
Above: Government House, often referred to as Fanningbank, is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island.
There have been three subsequent elections, counting the May 2015 election. In 2007 the governing Progressive Conservative party was ousted by a Liberal government then led by Robert Ghiz. The Liberals won 23 of the 27 seats, with the remaining four going to the PCs. The Liberals took 52.9% of the popular vote and the PCs 41.4% with the Greens taking approximately 3% and the NDP approximately 2%.
In 2011 the governing
Liberals lost one seat to the PCs, taking 51.4% and 40.2% of the decided vote respectively. The Green and NDP Parties each increased their share of the
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