Half of Islanders ready for electoral reform, poll suggests

Prince Edward Islanders would like to see a new electoral system in place for the next provincial election, according to a new poll by MQO Research.

• Plebiscite results give rise to new political power

The telephone poll reached 300 Islanders in Jan. 13-16, and asked "Do you believe that the next provincial election should be contested under a new electoral system?" Fifty-two per cent of them answered yes.

The results of the 10-day plebiscite, announced Nov. 7, were 52.4 per cent in favour of a mixed member proportional representation system.

Citing low voter turnout in the plebiscite, Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced a referendum on electoral reform to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election.

• Referendum can't force hand of future P.E.I. government

The MQO poll also found support for that process. Forty-two per cent strongly supported or somewhat supported the plan for a referendum, with 32 per cent strongly or somewhat opposed. The remainder were undecided, refused to answer, or neither supported nor opposed the idea.

The results of this poll are considered accurate within 5.65 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Liberal support down

The same poll found that support for P.E.I.'s governing Liberals has fallen.

Among decided and leaning voters, support for the provincial Liberals fell 12 points since MQO's October poll to 44 per cent.

Support for the Progressive Conservatives held steady at 26 per cent, and NDP support appeared to fall, down five points to 6 per cent.

• P.E.I. Liberal support down, but still favoured party in CRA poll

The Green Party saw its support move up 17 points to 24 per cent in January.

The number of undecided voters was 23 per cent.

Among decided voters, the margin of error on the poll was seven percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |'Large, factory elementary schools' not best approach, says former education leader
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |More snow coming after overnight storm