75% voted YES to the non-binding referendum question!
Now, join the Greater Victoria Conversation!
To the Voters of Greater Victoria: THANK YOU!
If you voted in one of the 8 municipalities with a referendum question on the municipal ballot, thank you for participating in this historic event! Your vote has made an impressive impact on the future of local governance in our community.
You voted overwhelmingly in support of a governance review in Central Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich, Sidney and Victoria. Just over 80,000 turned out to vote on some form of amalgamation study question on the ballot, and a resounding 60,000 of you voted YES -- that's 75% -- an undisputable confirmation that people of the region are ready to look at how we can improve our Greater Victoria community.
To the voters in the 5 municipalities without a referndum question on the ballot, 11,000 of you turned out to vote. If your municipality had permitted such a non-binding referendum vote, the YES numbers would have increased even more. Those municipalities without a question were Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and View Royal. But it's never too late to let your new council know that you want to have a voice on this issue, and to expect their cooperation on regional studies undertaken by the Province.
Now the process begins for the newly-elected councils and the Province to initiate the studies that will guide our future. In early January 2015, Amalgamation Yes communicated the expectations of the electorate to all municipal councils in Greater Victoria and the CRD Board, along with draft guidelines for developing the studies. Read the letters.
Keep in touch by visiting this website often for news and progress updates and by signing up for membership and newsletters. Stay on top of all the media articles dealing with amalgamation, and join the Greater Victoria Conversation.
The Amalgamation Yes initiative could not have succeeded without the incredible support received each and every day from the thousands of people of Greater Victoria. The momentum for change is fully underway, and we look forward to many positive developments over the coming months.
Amalgamation Yes
Board of Directors, Capital Region Municipal Amalgamation Society
Tony Heemskerk of Amalgamation Yes speaks to Global TV News, November 18, 2014
