Annual Sharon Reeves
Outstanding Volunteer Award
Sharon Reeves was a Fair Vote Canada volunteer who passed away in 2021. Sharon was passionate about proportional representation and an amazing teambuilder. She embodied the kind of grassroots, heartfelt activism that Fair Vote Canada is all about.
When we achieve proportional representation in Canada, it will be thanks to Sharon and others like her, who spread the word, carried the torch and did the hard work to build the movement.
We present this volunteer recognition award during our Annual General Meeting in June to one volunteer who has demonstrated how one individual can make a big difference helping Fair Vote Canada achieve its goals
If you are on our mailing list, you will receive an invitation to nominate someone in the winter or early spring each year.
Sharon Reeves Biography
Sharon joined Fair Vote Canada (FVC) in 2005 but did not become active in the organization until 2013, a year after she retired. She worked as a volunteer for the FVC National Capital Region chapter both prior to and after the 2015 election, in which the Liberal Party promised that 2015 would be the last federal election held under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) voting system. Sadly, in early 2017 Prime Minister Trudeau indicated that the government would not be moving forward on this, despite the evidence that the majority of Canadians wanted it.
Sharon moved from Ottawa to Nanaimo in July 2017, where the NDP provincial government, composed of the NDP supported by the Green Party, had just promised to hold a referendum on changing the voting system from FPTP to a system of proportional representation. Much to her surprise by the beginning of November 2017 Sharon found herself the co-chair of the resurrected Mid-Island chapter of FVC. She led the local team advocating for a change in BC’s voting system, in conjunction with FVC BC and other BC chapters.
Sharon and I worked together on the Fair Vote campaign. I was so impressed by her ability to
rally such a ragtag group of volunteers and make us an effective team.
I loved her sense of humour, her sparkling smile, her incredible organizing skills, and her determination and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds.
