Islanders not only love to talk about politics, they love a good plebiscite. And there have been a number over the years on a boatload of topics. There have been many about liquor, and who can forget the most recent provincial plebiscite about attaching ourselves to the rest of Canada.

In 1991, Charlotte Stewart was asked to search the Public Archives and Records Office for plebiscites. Elections P.E.I. also kept track of some recent plebiscites held by municipalities. Those two reports help form the base for these looks at some of the plebiscites that Islanders have debated, and voted on, over the last 125 years.

1893 Prohibition Plebiscite

As part of the general election in 1893 Islanders were asked to vote on a new law that would totally prohibit "the importation, manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor as a beverage into or in the province of Prince Edward Island."

The question was a simple one: either you were for or against prohibition.

On voting day, Islanders voted 10,585 in favour of prohibition, with only 3,331 wanting to let the liquor flow.

1908 Ford Roadster

1913 Automobile Plebiscite

There was a raging debate over letting automobiles share the roads with animals and carriages in 1913. The exact results and questions are hazy.

Historian Ed MacDonald did research on this plebiscite for his book, If you’re stronghearted - Prince Edward Island in the twentieth century.

He wrote that district school meetings held during the summer of 1913 were used as a stage to hold the plebiscite, and the provincial government chose not to make the results public. But many said the rural communities voted overwhelmingly against allowing automobiles on the province's roads.

1923 Plebiscite under the Scott Act (Canada Temperance Act)

There was another clear question posed on the issue of prohibition during a January 22nd, 1923 plebiscite. This one was conducted to see if the Island still wanted to remain dry.

Shall the importation and bringing into this Province intoxicating liquors be forbidden?

A total of 9,685 Islanders voted in favour of prohibition while 3,576 voted in favour of doing away with the law.

1929 Prohibition Plebiscite

The tone of the prohibition question changed the third time around, as Islanders were asked to pass judgement on how potential liquor sales might be handled.

It was a two-parter asking if you sill supported a dry province, and if you supported a government-controlled sale of liquor.

Again, the majority of voters said they were not in favour of selling liquor under any circumstance. A total of 11,471 Islanders voted to keep the current law, while 8,080 voted for a government run liquor control system.

Clearly, however, support for liquor sales and consumption was rising.

1940 Prohibition Plebiscite

Yet another round in the liquor debate took place on June 25, 1940 with ballot asking four questions on the issue.

· Are you in favour of the sale of beer and light wine through Government Vendor Shops, under permit for beverage purposes?
· Are you in favour of retaining the present provisions of the Prohibition Act requiring medical prescriptions for beer and wine, as well as for other alcoholic liquors?
· Are you in favour or against Government Control?
· Are you in favour or against limiting the number of certificates or prescriptions available to each doctor at 50 per month?

The results this time around:

· 10,426 voted in favour of retaining existing Prohibition Act while 8,861 were in favour of relaxing the law.
· 11,401 in favour of the system that required a doctor to prescribe liquor as a treatment
· 8,207 supported the government control of liquor sales
· 10,838 Islander were in favour of limiting doctors to 50 prescriptions per month 8,731 against limiting doctors' rights to order liquor therapy

1942 Conscription of Manpower plebiscite

The national plebiscite on conscription was held on April 27, 1942.

At that point the National Resources Mobilization Act was, in effect, giving the Liberal government the right control manpower for defence of Canada on home soil.

However, Prime Minister Mackenzie King needed a way to get away from a promise not to introduce conscription of men to fight overseas. He made that pledge in 1939, and asked to be let out of his promise during the 1942 plebiscite.

Islanders voted 41,720 in favour of conscription, while 5, 821 voted against the draft.

1954 Potato Plebiscites

There were two votes held on the sale of Island potatoes in 1954. Both centred on the creation and operation of the P.E.I. Potato Marketing Board.

The first plebiscite was in response to a presentation made to the legislature by the Federation of Agriculture. It presented concerns about the board's marketing plan.

In May, 6,747 Islanders were asked to mail in ballots on the question, "are you in favour of the continued operation of the P.E.I. Potato Marketing Board?"

A total of 3,282 voted in favour of maintaining the board while 1,845 farmers voted to abolish the board.

The controversy over the operation of the board continued during the year, resulting in a second plebiscite in November of 1954.

This time around it was a fight to keep the individual names of potato growers on the products they produced. Many were concerned about a scheme to simply market the province's potatoes as P.E.I. potatoes. The big producers wanted to be sure the name of their farm was on the bags people across Canada were taking home.

Former premier W.A. Matheson asked two questions about the board. The first asked, "Are you in favour of retaining the P.E. Island Potato Marketing Board?”

And the second question read, “Are you in favour of the Potato Marketing Board operating a compulsory one desk selling agency?”

While farmers supported the agency by a vote of 3,58 to 1,977, overall the marketing idea was defeated by a scant margin of 285 votes.

1957 Plebiscite on the amalgamation of Charlottetown

In November of 1957, the Patriot newspaper reported results of a vote to amalgamate Charlottetown.

The Village of Spring Park and Central Royalty voted to join the city, while residents of Parkdale voted against the idea.

1988 Fixed Link Crossing Plebiscite

After years of talk, a promise made upon joining Confederation, and reports on everything from a tunnel to a causeway to a bridge: Islanders were asked to vote on a permanent link between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.

“Are you in favour of the fixed link crossing between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick,” was the single ballot question asked on January 18, 1988.

A total 86,042 were eligible to vote.

When the votes were counted the Yes side had gathered 33,229 votes, while 22,472 Islanders voted against a link.