Charlottetown – May 5
PEI voters cast 81,988 votes yesterday, but only 46% of voters — 38,042 of us — helped elect an MLA! Islanders may have tried to send a message to the government, but the voting system gave the Liberals another majority, although this time a false one.
More islanders than ever – 22% – cast their vote for neither the PCs or the Liberals, but the NDP or the Greens have little to show for their surge in popular support thanks to our Winner Take All System. While Peter Bevan Baker’s win in District 17 is a breathtaking breakthrough in expanding the political representation on the island, the truth is that both the NDP and the Greens were short-changed.
If the island had adopted MMP, as recommended by Norm Carruthers in 2005, the seat breakdown would have been as follows: Liberals 11, PCs 10, NDP 3 and Greens 3. The result might have been a Liberal-NDP coalition government with 14 MLAs, or a Liberal-Green coalition government with 14 MLAs. Laws passed by such a government would have the support of a true majority of MLAs representing a true majority of voters. PEI would not risk having a one-man or one-party government.
“This is not the Legislature that Islanders voted for,” says Brenda Oslawsky, vice-president of Fair Vote Canada. “Our democracy is not well served by a voting system that distorts the will of the voters this way. I hope these results serve to re-open discussion of proportional representation for PEI.”