How We Vote
On this page:
Overview
Dates: November 23, 2017 to February 28, 2018
Who: Ministry of the Attorney General
What: A provincial referendum on whether B.C. should keep its current voting system or change it to proportional representation
Where: Province-wide
Why: To educate the public about the referendum, shape its key elements, and provide an opportunity for people to express their values and preferences
How: Online
Engagement summary
The Province introduced legislation to hold a referendum in the fall of 2018, which asked British Columbians to decide whether B.C. should keep its current voting system (First Past the Post) or move to a system of Proportional Representation. Countries around the world use different voting systems to elect their representatives. How a voting system is designed influences how a society is governed.
British Columbians were invited to participate in a public engagement by completing an online questionnaire, reading submissions from organizations, and learning about systems used here and around the world.
Results
- 180,880 visits to the How We Vote engagement website
- 88,547 fully completed questionnaires were received
- 2 million mailers were distributed to households across B.C.
- Alliance4Democracy (PDF, 28KB)
- All Votes Count Canada (PDF, 120KB)
- BC ACORN (PDF, 126KB)
- BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform – (English) (PDF, 2MB)
- BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform – (French) (PDF, 3MB)
- BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform – (Chinese) (PDF, 728KB)
- BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform – (Punjabi) (PDF, 3MB)
- BCGEU (PDF, 250KB)
- BC NDP (PDF, 35KB)
- BC Symposium on Proportional Representation (PDF, (PDF, 774KB)
- British Columbia Federation of Students (PDF, 90KB)
- Broadbent Institute (PDF, 672KB)
- BMC Motorworks Ltd. (PDF, 317KB)
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (PDF, 1.8MB)
- Canadian Association to Restore Democracy (PDF, 778KB)
- Committee for Voting Equity in BC (Voting BC) (PDF, 65KB)
- Citizens’ Vote Empowerment (PDF, 1.2MB)
- Comox Valley Council of Canadians (PDF, 71KB)
- CUPE BC (PDF, 279KB)
- Dogwood BC (PDF, 1.3MB)
- Dr. Dennis Pilon, York University (PDF, 118KB)
- Dr. Stephen Phillips, Department of Political Science, Langara College (PDF, 91KB)
- Electoral Framework Association (PDF, 539KB)
- Elizabeth May, MP (PDF, 5.3MB)
- Equal Voice (PDF, 887KB)
- Fair Voting BC (PDF, 394KB)
- Fair Vote Canada (BC Steering Committee) (PDF, 222KB)
- Fair Vote Comox Valley (PDF, 50KB)
- Fair Vote Greater Victoria, PDF 127KB)
- Fair Vote Kamloops (PDF, 37KB)
- Fair Vote Nelson (PDF, 60KB)
- Fair Vote South Okanagan Similkameen (PDF, 53KB)
- Fair Vote Sunshine Coast (PDF, 34KB)
- Fraser Institute (PDF, 2.3MB)
- Health Sciences Association of BC (PDF, 698KB)
- Hospital Employees Union (PDF, 413KB)
- Keith Edmonds, PhD (PDF, 477KB)
- Leadnow (PDF, 111KB)
- Make Every Voter Count Society (PDF, 243KB)
- MoveUP (PDF, 607KB)
- New Democrat and B.C. Green Caucus (PDF, 614KB)
- No BC Proportional Representation Society (PDF, 182KB)
- Public Service Alliance of Canada, BC Region (PDF, 236KB)
- Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA (PDF, 403KB)
- Sierra Club BC (PDF, 503KB)
- Unifor (PDF, 122KB)
- YES PR BC (PDF, 125KB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 1 (PDF, 5.4MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 2 (PDF, 8MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 3 (PDF, 2.3MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 4 (PDF, 7.2MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 5 (PDF, 6.6MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 6 (PDF, 7.3MB)
- Individual Submissions Volume 7 (PDF, 4.2MB)
Results of the public engagement informed a report by the Attorney General with recommendations for the referendum (PDF, 2MB)
Related engagements
