On the evening of Monday, May 1st, London made history.

That’s right, with 10 votes in favour and only 4 opposed — and with only hours left before the legal deadline — London City Council voted to abandon the first-past-the-post voting system and switch to ranked ballots.

We are elated. For the first time in living memory, a major Canadian jurisdiction will be enacting real, positive electoral reform. This is truly a moment to celebrate.

Although we’re disappointed that Toronto won’t be among the first cohort of municipalities to use ranked ballots, we can all be extremely proud of the hard work and support from people across Ontario that made this historic moment possible.

RaBIT supporters were essential in pressuring the provincial government to change the law to allow ranked ballot elections. What happened earlier this week in London could not have happened without your support. So thank you.

We’re also excited because this decision is already helping us to build momentum for our campaign here in Toronto. As we mentioned in previous messages, for the past few months we’ve been engaged in a campaign to recruit some new members for our Board of Directors. That process is almost complete and we look forward to introducing our outstanding new recruits shortly.

We’ve also been working on some new events and strategies, the details of which we’ll also be announcing in the coming weeks and months. While 2022 may seem like a long way away, we are more committed than ever to making sure that 2018 is the last unfair and unfriendly election that Toronto will be forced to endure.

Ultimately, this victory in London shows that, despite all the obstacles, success is still possible. We’re celebrating, but we’re also already getting back to work to make sure that Toronto is the next city that makes the switch to ranked ballots.

Thanks for your ongoing support.