British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2005

Referendum on Electoral Reform

Should British Columbia change to the BC-STV electoral system as recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform? Yes/No.

Location

British Columbia

Date

May 17, 2005

Results
	Votes	%
Yes	981,419	7001576900000000000♠57.69%
No	719,716	7001423100000000000♠42.31%
Valid votes	1,701,135	7001972400000000000♠97.24%
Invalid or blank votes	48,204	7000275990000099999♠2.76%
Total votes	1,749,339	100.00%
Registered voters/turnout	2,845,284	7001614800000000000♠61.48%

Website: Reports, Elections BC

A referendum was held in the Canadian province of British Columbia on May 17, 2005 to determine whether or not to adopt the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform to replace the existing first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP) with a single transferable vote system (BC-STV). It was held in conjunction with the BC Legislative Assembly election of 2005. Voters were given two ballots at that time: a ballot to vote for a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) in their constituency and a referendum ballot. The referendum received considerable support from the electorate but failed in meeting the demanding threshold that had been set. A second referendum was held in 2009.

The first half of the 2000s was marked by a growing movement in favour of electoral reform in Canada. Liberals in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario campaigned successfully in each of these provinces with commitments to electoral reform. A reform initiative was launched as well in PEI, as well, in response to a series of lopsided elections in that province. In 2004, the Law Commission of Canada published an influential report on electoral reform, with a strong recommendation in favour of Mixed Member Proportionality (MMP).

In British Columbia, impetus was created by the anomalous provincial election result in 1996, in which the NDP won reelection as a majority government with 39.5% of the vote and 39 seats, despite gaining 3% fewer votes than the Liberals at 41.8% of the total and 33 seats. The balance of the vote was picked up by the Reform Party, which won 9.3% of the vote (two seats) and the Progressive Democrats with 5.7% of the vote (one seat), representing a perfect example of vote-splitting by conservative and liberal parties leading the NDP to majority status. There followed another lopsided election in 2001, in which the Liberals won 77 out of 79 seats, virtually wiping out the opposition, with 57% of the vote.

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