Mixed-member map to be drawn
Premier Wade MacLauchlan taps electoral boundaries commission to create sample mixed-member proportional map
Premier Wade MacLauchlan has asked the province’s electoral boundaries commission to create a map showing how mixed member proportional representation would look in Prince Edward Island.
MacLauchlan sent a letter on Dec. 20 to former justice Gerard Mitchell, the chairman of the P.E.I. electoral boundaries commission, formally requesting a new independent map showing what P.E.I. would look like if it had 18 electoral districts, instead of the current 27.
The map would be used “to ensure a level of public education and awareness” about the mixed member proportional system that Islanders voted for in the 2016 plebiscite, MacLauchlan said.
“It is crucial that the map be drawn by a well-respected independent body,” he said in the legislature Dec. 20.
“It is fitting that the commission be asked to undertake this important role of informing Islanders on a further choice related to our democratic process and future.”
Mixed member proportional (MMP) representation was the winning choice of five options in a plebiscite on electoral reform held in P.E.I. in 2016.
Proportional representation can take on different forms, but the model Islanders voted for proposed a hybrid voting system that would see two-thirds of the MLAs in the legislature continue to be elected using first-past-the-post (the present system) with the remaining one-third of MLAs allocated based on each party’s provincewide popular vote.
To keep the current number of MLAs to 27, changing to this system would require reducing the number of districts in P.E.I. to 18, as nine MLAs would not be represented by a district, but would instead be “proportional” representatives.
The system is designed so these proportional seats “topup” or compensate for the often disproportionate results of firstpast-the-post.
MacLauchlan promised to create a sample MMP map in his November speech from the throne as part of his commitment to hold a second vote on electoral reform in the form of a binding referendum in conjunction with the next provincial election.
“Fundamental to that work is the creation of an independent map that will lay out the 18 geographic boundaries inherent in the mixed-member proportional representation model considered in the (2016) plebiscite,” he said.
“It is crucial that the map be drawn by a wellrespected independent body. It is fitting that the commission be asked to undertake this important role of informing Islanders on a further choice related to our democratic process and future.” Premier Wade MacLauchlan
“This work will ensure a level of public education and awareness essential on a matter of such importance as our democratic process.”
Both Opposition Leader James Aylward and Green MLA Hannah Bell lauded the fact this work would be done by an independent third party.
But both called for a proper public education campaign to be held as part of the referendum to ensure Islanders know and understand their voting options.
Aylward called for the triparty special committee on democratic renewal to be revived to oversee this public consultation.
“While this is a first step, I’d call it a baby step, Mr. Premier There is still a lot of work to do. I implore you to bring back the special committee on democratic renewal so that they can get to work,” Aylward said in the house Dec. 20.
The electoral boundaries commission has been asked to finish the mixed-member proportional map prior to the spring sitting of the legislature, which reconvenes April 3.