Island Party of Prince Edward Island | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Vacant |
| President | Vacant |
| Founded | 2007; officially on March 5, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Montague, Prince Edward Island |
| Ideology | Environmentalism Direct democracy Green conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Website | |
| https://www.islandparty.ca/ | |
The Island Party of Prince Edward Island, also known as the Island Party of PEI or the Island Party for short, is a Canadian political party active in Prince Edward Island. [1]
The Island Party of Prince Edward Island formed after the 2007 election. [2] The party officially registered on March 5, 2010, [3] and the first leader of the party was Jay Gallant, who served in an interim role. [4]
In March 2011, former Liberal candidate Billy Cann was acclaimed as the leader of the party. [5] The party fielded 12 candidates in the 2011 election under Cann. [6]
On August 9, 2012, Cann announced that he was leaving the party to join the NDP. [7]
On March 1, 2015, Paul Smitz was named the interim leader of the party. [8] However, the party was deregistered later that year, when it failed to nominate the required 10 candidates for the 2015 election and did not file an information return. [9]
The party re-registered on September 9, 2022. [10] Party president, Paul Smitz, cited Liberal and PC governments' failure to rescind the controversial Municipal Government Act as a significant reason for the party re-forming. In addition to serving as president, Smitz was also the acting leader of the relaunched party. [11]
On March 10, 2023, Cecile Sly (Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás) was appointed as the party leader. [12] [13]
The party nominated 11 candidates for the 2023 election under leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás, electing none and receiving around 1% of the popular vote. [14]
Party leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás said they were proud of their diverse candidates which were distributed across the province, though she was disappointed that they weren't invited to any leaders’ debates. [15]
Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás was removed as party leader on February 11, 2024, by a non-confidence vote from the membership. [16]
Political scientist of University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Don Desserud, described the party's platform as "right-leaning" with "some progressive social policy," and compared the party to the United Farmers movement. [10]
Members of the party participated in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 public health mandates. [10]
The Island Party sees regionalization as an attempt to unload some of the tax burden for major infrastructure on rural Islanders. [17]
Noticeably, the Island Party wants to review the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which the group considers it to be contentious, in order to ensure democracy is respected. Furthermore, to make sure that local residents have a say in how money is spent within municipalities, the Island Party proposed a vote on yearly budgets in every city in PEI. They believe that by doing so, the Minister's powers will be reduced and the government will no longer be able to create or restructure municipalities without approval from residents.
The Island Party also believes that regional cooperation should be promoted through the creation of economic development zones. Representatives from community councils and industry sectors within these zones could be elected to serve on a regional board while preserving and strengthening the Islanders' communities.
Besides regionalization, as per the party's website, the party's plank is as follows:
| Election | Leader | Candidates | Seats | Votes | % | Place | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Billy Cann | 12 / 27 | 0 / 27 | 682 | 0.91% | 5th | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2023 | Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás | 11 / 27 | 0 / 27 | 411 | 0.55% | 5th | Extra-parliamentary |
Herb Dickieson is a retired physician and a former educator and politician in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Dickieson was the first and, to date, only member of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island to have sat in the Legislative Assembly. He currently serves as the President of the PEI NDP.
The New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island is a social democratic political party in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP).
The Green Party of Prince Edward Island is a registered provincial political party and one of the three major parties in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The party was founded by Sharon Labchuk, a political organizer for the federal Green Party of Canada. It is a party in the international green political tradition, espousing environmentalism, grassroots democracy, and social justice.
The politics of Prince Edward Island are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces. The capital of the province of Prince Edward Island is Charlottetown, where the lieutenant governor and the premier reside, and where the provincial legislature and cabinet are located.
The 2007 Prince Edward Island general election was held on May 28, 2007. It elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. The incumbent Progressive Conservative government was defeated by the Liberal opposition after holding power for eleven years.
The 2011 Prince Edward Island general election was held on October 3, 2011.
The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party, a political party in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island chooses its leadership by an open vote of party members at a convention called by the party executive when there is a vacancy in the leadership. The first convention was held when Alex W. Matheson sought reelection as leader in 1961.
Peter Stewart Bevan-Baker is a Scottish-Canadian politician. He served as the leader of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island from 2012 to 2023. He is currently the member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island representing New Haven-Rocky Point. He previously stood as a candidate for both the Green Party of Ontario and the Green Party of Canada. Bevan-Baker is a dentist by profession as well as being an active writer, musician and public speaker. Bevan-Baker served as the Leader of the Official Opposition in the 66th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2019 to 2023.
Michael (Mike) Redmond is a Canadian politician, who was the leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island from 2012 to 2017. A facilities director at the Murphy's Community Centre in Charlottetown, he won the leadership over activist Trevor Leclerc on October 13, 2012, following the resignation of James Rodd.
The 2015 Prince Edward Island general election was held May 4, 2015, to elect members of the 65th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Under amendments passed by the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in 2008, Prince Edward Island elections are usually held on the first Monday of October in the fourth calendar year, unless it is dissolved earlier by the lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island due to a motion of no confidence, or at the request of the premier. The current government had hinted that an election would be held "before Mother's Day" 2015, and such a dissolution would avoid any conflicts with the next federal election, expected to be held in October 2015.
The 2019 Prince Edward Island general election was held to elect the members of the 66th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The vote in 26 of the 27 districts was held on 23 April 2019, while the vote for the member from Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park was deferred to 15 July due to the death of the Green Party's candidate. However, Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park still voted in a referendum on electoral reform. Natalie Jameson won the deferred election in the district.
A Prince Edward Island New Democratic Party leadership convention was held on April 7, 2018, as a result of the resignation of Michael Redmond on December 6, 2017, after he placed fourth place in the Charlottetown-Parkdale by-election held on November 27, 2017.
Gord McNeilly is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in the 2019 Prince Edward Island general election. He represents the district of Charlottetown-West Royalty as a member of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island.
James Gerard Dinn is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2019 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of St. John's Centre as a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party. He was re-elected in the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election.
The 2023 Prince Edward Island general election was held to elect the members of the 67th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island on 3 April 2023. The election normally required by 2 October under Prince Edward Island's fixed election date legislation was called early by Premier Dennis King at his nomination meeting on 6 March.
The 2022 New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island leadership election was held on April 23, 2022. It was initially planned for November 6, 2021, but was postponed. The election was called due to the position being vacated by former leader Joe Byrne. His resignation followed his failed run during 2019 Prince Edward Island general election in District 12, Charlottetown-Victoria Park, losing to Green Party candidate Karla Bernard. Byrne resigned as PEI NDP leader effective September 1, 2020. Michelle Neill was the sole candidate and was elected leader unanimously.
The 2017 Charlottetown-Parkdale provincial by-election took place on November 27, 2017. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the district's incumbent MLA Doug Currie on October 19.
The 2021 Cornwall-Meadowbank provincial by-election was held on November 15, 2021, to elect a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island for the district of Cornwall-Meadowbank. The seat became vacant upon the resignation of Liberal MLA Heath MacDonald on August 18, 2021. MacDonald had held the seat since 2015 but resigned to run for Member of Parliament in the 2021 Canadian federal election in Malpeque, which he was successful.
Sharon Emily Cameron is a Canadian politician and former civil servant, who served as the leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party from November 19, 2022 to April 6, 2023.
The 2024 Borden-Kinkora provincial by-election was originally scheduled for February 5, 2024. However, because of impending weather conditions, Elections PEI announced the election would be postponed until Tuesday, February 6, 2024, with the same voting locations in place. It was then postponed again to February 7. It was triggered by the resignation of Progressive Conservative Jamie Fox from the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.
| Represented in the Legislative Assembly |
|
|---|---|
| Other parties recognized by Elections PEI | |
