Editing Referendums in Canada (section)

===British Columbia===

In [[British Columbia]] has held several referendums. A few of them are listed here.

BC held a [[1920 Canadian liquor plebiscite|plebiscite on inter-provincial trade in liquor in 1920]].

In BC, a [[British Columbia Treaty Referendum|Treaty Referendum]] was held on [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] treaty rights in 2002. The referendum proposed eight questions that voters were asked to either support or oppose. Critics claimed the phrasing was flawed or biased toward a predetermined response. Critics, especially First Nations and religious groups, called for a boycott of the referendum, and only about one third of ballots were returned, significantly less than the usual turnout in provincial general elections. The ballots that were returned showed enthusiastic support, with over 80 per cent of participating voters agreeing to all eight proposed principles.

A [[2005 British Columbia electoral reform referendum|referendum on electoral reform]] on May 17, 2005, was held in conjunction with the [[2005 British Columbia general election|provincial election]] that year. British Columbian voters were asked to approve a new electoral system based on the [[Single Transferable Vote]] called [[BC STV]]. It passed with the support of a majority of voters (57%), but failed to meet the required "supermajority" threshold of 60%. Premier [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell]] announced due to the large support shown for electoral reform a [[2009 British Columbia electoral reform referendum|second referendum]] would be held in correspondence with the [[2009 British Columbia general election]]. This referendum would also have required approval by 60% of those voting.

The second referendum was held on May 12, 2009, in conjunction with the provincial election. The results were a "supermajority" of 60.92% voting for retaining the current "first past the post" electoral system and 39.8% voting for the proposed Single Transferable Vote.

A [[2011 British Columbia sales tax referendum|mail-in referendum]] was held from June 13 to August 5, 2011, on the fate of the province's harmonized sales tax. The government pledged to discontinue the tax if more than 50% of the voters opt to have the tax discontinued. It was passed, with 55% in favour.

The province held [[2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum|another referendum on proportional representation]] in late 2018. With 42% turnout, proportional representation was defeated by 61% of the vote.