PEI election call expected tomorrow ...

I've been a bad blogger the last couple of weeks. I blame students and their hard-to-read writing on exams. Also, it's been busy in the electoral reform world. It's good to see that lots of members of the blogging community are saying nice things about the MMP model designed by the Ontario Citizens' Assembly. I hope to be talking about a lot over the coming months about how MMP can improve Ontario political life and countering lots of the myths that opponents of advanced democracy will be trying to push upon Ontarians.

But I want to address more pressing electoral issues in this post - the impending election in my home province of PEI. CP (and all my PEI political sources) tells us that three-term Premier Pat Binns will call a provincial election tomorrow at his nomination meeting, as has been his custom the previous two elections. The Charlottetown Guardian has their take here.

What are the big issues on my native Isle? CP says it's outmigration (like me lots of young Islanders are elsewhere seeking opportunities) and water quality (intensive potato production has increase nitrates in ground water). If CP is right and those are the ballot box issues, things may turn out very well for Liberal challenger Robert Ghiz.

The Premier is hoping the election will be swung by his progressive action on two issues near and dear to Island voters ... canned pop and Sunday shopping. Now, thanks to Binns' leadership, Islanders can engage in both of these sinful pursuits.

Full disclosure here, I've got lots of connections to this vote. My father (who would make a stellar MLA) is running for the Liberals in my home district (#22, St. Eleanors-Summerside) against a PC city councillor who I personally like (but is way to ideologically right for my taste) and one of my Facebook friends for the Island New Democrats. It remains to be seen if my girlfriends Mom's political party will be standing a candidate against my Dad.

As you can seee, elections on PEI are an intimate affair. I may share some more of my thoughts here as the campaign progresses. I must admit I will be imagining how different things could have been if things had happened differently in the Fall of 2005.

Provincial election in the garden province

Great CP article on the wires today about the likely upcoming election in my native province of PEI. I don't want to comment too much on the article because as a UPEI political science prof astutely notes in it, Island politics is "a personal and family activity".

As PEI politics has "a certain intimacy ... unmatched anywhere else in Canada, I will likely know most of the candidates, some better than others. I can't find a list of candidates online, but you'll note a family connection between myself and the Liberal candidate in my home district (#22). I know who's got my vote, but there will undoubtedly be candidates I like and respect in all four provincial political parties.

To ensure I have a free place to stay next time I'm back on PEI, I won't be blogging regularly on the day-to-day of the election, although as I will undoubtedly be carefully observing how the PEI electoral campaigns migrates from the coffee shops to cyberspace, I may add the occasional thought on that fascinating topic.

Big electoral reform news today, that I would be remiss not to share.

This weekend, the historic Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform met to deliberate and choose their preferred alternative voting system. They had been workign on both mixed-member proportional (MMP) and single transferable vote (STV) models. At the conclusion of a weekend of debate, three-quarters of the Assembly members chose MMP. The Assembly will decide on April 15 whether to recommend that system over the status quo, a decision that will trigger a referendum to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election in October.

The MMP system designed by this average group of voters ensures strong proportionality to ensure every vote counts. It is similar to the voting system used in Germany, New Zealand and for elections to the Welsh and Scottish assemblies. MMP would expand voter choice by allowing voters to make two marks on their ballots - one for a preferred local representative and another for their favorite party, which will determine the allocation of the list seats. Under the Assembly's current working model of MMP, 90 members would be elected from constituency seats with another 39 elected from province-wide closed lists, based on the second, or "party", vote.

This made-in Ontario voting reform will finally bring give Ontario a modern, fair voting system. It will improve voter choice, increase political participation, elect more women an visible minorities and promote a more collaborative Queen's Park.
In short, it will revolutionize Ontario democracy for the better. Don't worry, I'll get to explaining just HOW MMP will do all these wonderful things in the weeks and months to come.

For super electoral reform keeners, the amazing TVOntario interactive Citizens' Assembly site should have video from this historic weekend online now.