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Tom Monto

Alberta brought in STV in successive steps 1913-1924

Every province west of Quebec has changed their provincial electoral systems, without referendum. All the times provincial electoral systems were changed in Canada, no provincial electoral system has ever been changed after a referendum.


And like in Ireland, PR (STV ) in Alberta was brought in after successful use at city level. Ireland brought in STV for its national elections about the same time that it was brought in for provincial elections in Winnipeg, in 1920.


Steps toward provincial STV:


Lethbridge city elections - Lethbridge disbanded its city council. Its board of commissioners was elected through ranked ballots (Alternative Voting), starting in 1913.


Calgary city STV starting in 1917


STV set up for provincial referendum on Prohibition in 1923, to choose best of four options. (One - government sale of liquor and bars - won with majority on the first count.)


Edmonton city STV starting in 1923


Alberta provincial STV starting in 1924, first use in general election in 1926.

Edmonton and Calgary made into city-wide districts and elected five MLAs each,

Medicine Hat made into city-wide two-member district.


(Lethbridge, which had started the process, finally brought in STV for its city elections in 1928.)

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Before the 1930 provincial election, the election of Medicine Hat area MLAs was reverted to FPTP.


Later the number of Edmonton and Calgary MLAs, elected through STV, was increased, then decreased, then increased again in number. Alteration of representation of a city was easy with district level STV, no re-districting was required.


District-level PR (such as STV) has that advantage that it does not need to be brought in wholesale. It can be brought in where majority of voters in a district or group of districts such as the districts of a city, call for it, or where representation needs to be increased and re-districting is unwanted.


PR-STV was brought in in Alberta and Manitoba at provincial level, only in some districts and not in others. In Alberta this did not lead to wider application.


In Manitoba it did spread to a couple other districts.


But in future it could be spread more widely after initial entry in just a couple districts.


Better to bring it in in even only a couple cities at first, than to await general overhaul of electoral system, I think.


Thanks for reading.

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