Council determines it’s time to ask voters about council size and possible related ward boundary changes

Council has determined it is time once again to ask about council size and possible related ward boundary changes.

At Tuesday night’s council meeting, councillors approved moving forward with a question on the 2026 municipal election ballot to be: “Are you in favour of a third-party review of council size and related ward boundary changes?”

The clerk has been directed to give public notice, and schedule public meetings regarding council’s intention to pass a bylaw to add a question to the 2026 ballot. It was noted the exact words of that question could change, following public meetings.

Former councillor John Thompson addressed council, asking members if they really wanted to go down that “costly rabbit hole” again as he recalled the issue in the past “plagued councils for a decade and any suggested plans ended in a deadlock.” He recalled the arrival of the decision to reduce council by two while maintaining historical boundaries and the appeal to the OMB, in which council’s decision was approved.

Earlier this year, councillors discussed the issue and asked staff to seek legal advice to have concise wording of the question that could be answered with “yes” or “no”.

BACKGROUND:
The structure and size of council were determined through a negotiation process and a transition team in 1998 during amalgamation of the previous 10 wards, towns and villages into one single-tier municipality.

“It has been a topic for debate, and often contention, since then,” stated Clerk Victoria Leskie, in her report this spring when the matter arose at council again. “Previous councils have considered the issue through several exercises, including a question on the ballot in the 2010 municipal election.”

The last time a question was added to the election ballot was in 2010, which asked, “Are you in favour of council commencing a public consultation process to review the size of council for the County of Prince Edward?”

Of the eligible electors (22,403), 10,614 ballots were cast with 9,381 (41.87 per cent) voting on the ballot question. 7,578 (80.78 per cent) answered ‘yes’ to the question, 1,803 (19.21 per cent) voted ‘no’ to the question.

Under the municipal elections act, more than 50 per cent of the eligible electors are required to answer the question for it to be legally binding, which did not happen in 2010 as only 41.87 per cent voted.

“Although the results were not legally binding, council proceeded with a review through the citizen’s assembly process and a held a series of public meetings,” explained Leskie in her report. “Following that process, council reduced the number of councillors in Sophiasburgh ward from two to one, eliminated the ward councillor and boundaries for Bloomfield ward and merged Bloomfield ward with Hallowell ward.”

This resulted in reducing the size of council from 16 to 14 members, and reduced the number of wards from 10 to nine wards.

Should the ballot question go ahead at the upcoming municipal election, the results of a question would only be legally binding if at least 50 per cent of the eligible electors vote on the question, and if more than 50 per cent of the voters voted ‘yes’.

Traditionally, voter turnout has been less than 50 per cent in Prince Edward County, and if that is the case in 2026, the results would not be legally binding, notes Leskie.

“However, the results could still provide council and the public with an indication of public opinion on the matter,” she said. “The results gleaned may also guide council in its decision making on whether to undertake a governance review following the 2026 municipal election. Any changes which may result in the size of council or ward boundary configuration would be in effect for the 2030 municipal election.”

Click here for various stories over the years on the issue: