Green Party disadvantaged by voting system
Charlottetown – The Green Party of Canada congratulates Peter Bevan-Baker and Karla Bernard on retaining their seats in the Provincial Legislature on Monday night, with the party winning over 21% of the popular vote.
The Prince Edward IslandGreen Party, led by Bevan-Baker, made history becoming the first Green Party in Canada to achieve Official Opposition status. Despite winning a larger vote share than the Liberal party, Greens lost that status, but maintained a strong representation going forward.
Monday night results see the re-election of Peter Bevan-Baker in the riding of New Haven-Rocky Point over Liberal leader Sharon Cameron. Karla Bernard was also re-elected in Charlottetown-Victoria Park.
PEI Liberals won 3 seats with just 17% of the vote, in contrast the Greens won just 2 seats with over 21% of the popular vote. With this, the Liberal Party becomes the official opposition with considerably less popular support than the Green Party of PEI. Notably, the PEI PCs gained 81% of the seats in the Legislature with only 55% of the popular vote.
“This distortion reminds us of the urgent need for Fair Voting and Electoral Reform.” says Elizabeth May, Federal Green Party Leader. “It is now time to regroup and rebuild. 18 Green candidates finished second in their respective ridings, compared to only 5 Progressive Conservative candidates, 3 Liberal candidates, and only one NDP candidate. It is clear there is strong support for Green Politics in PEI, and the voting should reflect that, which First Past the Post does not.”
#####
For more information or to arrange an interview :
Fabrice Lachance Nové
Press secretary
514-463-0021