User:Julian H. Ward/sandbox

During the 2001 provincial election, the Liberal Party promised to create a citizens' assembly to consider changes to the provincial electoral system (as opposed to forming a Royal Commission, as New Zealand did). The recommendation of the assembly would then be put as a referendum. In December, 2002 Gordon Gibson submitted his report, recommending an assembly composed of randomly selected citizens, two from each of the province's 79 electoral districts. In May 2003 the Legislature unanimously adopted the concept and most of the details.[1]

Political theorist John Ferejohn notes that an impetus for the citizens' assembly was the result in the 1996 provincial election which saw the long-reigning Liberal party removed from power despite winning a majority of the votes.[2]