On December 8, 2012, FVC National Council unanimously voted “That a Referendum be held on the following question, and that a majority of votes cast shall settle the question.” Fair Vote Canada’s referendum on municipal AV has now been completed, and the results have been published by the Chief Electoral Officer for the referendum, Larry Gordon. National Council notes that more members have participated in this referendum than in any other election or democratic exercise in our movement’s history.
The final tally showed that 55% of votes were in favour of Option A (supporting only proportional representation) and 45% of votes favoured Option B (adding support for the Alternative Vote for municipal elections).
The results show a preference of the membership for proportional representation. As a democratic, membership-based organization, National Council intends to respect this decision by the membership. Thus, Fair Vote Canada will not be supporting the Alternative Vote for the election of any legislative body going forward.
This has been a divisive and contentious issue. We are hopeful that everyone will respect this decision by the membership and the movement can work together in unity of purpose towards the goal of achieving proportional representation in the 2015 federal election. We would like to remind all chapters that any work on municipal campaigns must be on PR systems.