This column is a statement from Sweta Daboo, executive director of the PEI Coalition for Women in Government and co-host of the podcast Dialogue with Drake and Daboo. For more information on CBC’s Opinion Section, see the FAQ.
We are only seven weeks into 2023 – more than six months since the PEI’s scheduled provincial election date of October 2nd – and more than 30 candidates have already been confirmed. The energy also seems to be renewed in the political spheres as we see that the parties have been more present and vocal in the last two months than in the previous two years.
All signs point to another premature dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.
But before we get carried away with debates and door knocks, let’s be clear: snap elections are fundamentally bad for democracy.
Fixed election dates are still relatively new on Prince Edward Island – and poorly observed.
The electoral law was amended in 2008 to accommodate them and mandates a fixed election date on the first Monday in October every four years.
The only Legislative Assembly to serve a full term under this change was the one that voted for it, keeping the date only for the 2011 general election.
With each subsequent failure to uphold it, our democracy weakened a little more.
Early elections maintain the status quo
Snap elections take time for potential candidates and voters alike.
Deciding to run requires thorough preparation. Potential candidates have to go about their daily chores, say goodbye to their jobs for campaigns, raise funds, and gain support in the community.
This preparatory work takes longer and is even more difficult for those traditionally excluded from politics.
With the Canada Games starting this weekend on PEI, I can only hope the real PEI games don’t follow immediately in the form of a spring election.
Youth, newcomers and women – three groups underrepresented in our legislature – are most likely to be in the low-income ranks at PEI. It can take months of saving just to have the funds to take time off for campaigns.
An early election call deprives marginalized voices of this opportunity and maintains the status quo.
Voter turnout is also higher
Women in particular have additional concerns. They still carry most of the household and care responsibilities, an inequality that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United Nations estimates that the pandemic has threatened four decades of gender equality achievements. Industries with a majority of women were also 1.8 times more vulnerable than traditionally male industries during the pandemic, increasing financial precarity.
This makes it all the more difficult to conduct a provincial election campaign.
We have strong evidence that fixed election dates work right here on PEI. In local government, the proportion of female councilors reached an all-time high of 42 percent islandwide in November 2022, compared to 26.6 percent in the legislature.
Voter turnout is also higher in fixed elections.
The predictability of a set date gives more time to engage with diverse constituents, particularly youth — a demographic where turnout for the PEI has steadily declined since 2015.
A snap election also takes the opportunity to vote out those who may have already planned to be off the island during this period and cannot find alternative voting options.
For those looking to vote, there is no time to fully analyze all parties’ positions on the issues and hear from candidates, which means less preparation when heading to the polling station. Voters cannot make fully informed decisions about their future and that of their communities. Is that what we want as a functioning democracy?
With the Canada Games starting this weekend on PEI, I can only hope that the actual PEI Games don’t follow immediately in the form of a spring election.
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