The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island conducted a general election on September 29, 2003 to elect the 27 members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The election was called on September 2 by Premier Pat Binns, who enjoyed a high level of popularity among voters.
The provinces and territories of Canada are sub-national governments within the geographical areas of Canada under the authority of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —were united to form a federated colony, becoming a sovereign nation in the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times, and the country has grown from the original four provinces to the current ten provinces and three territories. Together, the provinces and territories make up the world's second-largest country by area.
Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby. PEI is one of the three Maritime Provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. Part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to the 2016 census, the province of PEI has 142,907 residents.
The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, along with the Queen of Canada in Right of Prince Edward Island, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island, forms the parliament of the province. The General Assembly meets at Province House, which is located at the intersection of Richmond and Great George Streets in Charlottetown.
Contents
- Results
- Largest and smallest margins of victory
- Riding-by-riding results
- See also
- External links
- Parties
Polling took place on September 29, despite a blackout across two-thirds of the province and other damage caused by Hurricane Juan.
Hurricane Juan was a significant tropical cyclone that heavily damaged parts of Atlantic Canada in late September 2003. Juan is also the first hurricane name and one of two to be requested to be retired by the Meteorological Service of Canada. It was the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on September 24 from a tropical wave that had tracked across the subtropical Atlantic Ocean. It tracked northward and strengthened over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, reaching Category 2 strength on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale on September 27. The hurricane peaked in intensity with sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) that same day, losing some strength as it raced over cooler waters toward the coast of Nova Scotia. Juan made landfall between Shad Bay and Prospect in the Halifax Regional Municipality early on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). Juan retained hurricane strength while crossing Nova Scotia from south to north, though it weakened to a Category 1 storm over Prince Edward Island. It was absorbed by another extratropical low later on September 29 near Anticosti Island in the northern Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Binns' Progressive Conservatives were elected to a third consecutive majority government, the first time this had happened in Island history (for the Cons/PC party). The Premier, who ran in Murray River-Gaspereaux, was re-elected, along with his entire existing cabinet.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island is one of two major political parties on Prince Edward Island. It and its rival, the Liberals have alternated in power since responsible government was granted in 1851.
The Liberals wrested three seats from the Tories, increasing their standing to four seats. The party's new leader, Robert Ghiz, was one of those. The son of former premier Joe Ghiz beat Charlottetown mayor George MacDonald in the riding of Charlottetown-Rochford Square in Charlottetown.
Robert Watson Joseph Ghiz is a Canadian politician who served as the 31st Premier of Prince Edward Island from 2007 to 2015. He is the son of the 27th Premier, Joe Ghiz. On November 13, 2014 Ghiz announced he would be resigning as Premier in early 2015 as soon as the Liberal Party elected a new leader.
Joseph Atallah "Joe" Ghiz was the 27th Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1986 to 1993, an educator of law and a justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. He was the father of Robert Ghiz, the 31st Premier of Prince Edward Island. He was the first premier of a Canadian province to be of non-European descent, since followed by Ujjal Dosanjh and Ghiz's son, Robert.
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom, Charlottetown was originally an unincorporated town that incorporated as a city in 1855.
The New Democrats did not win any seats; their leader, Gary Robichaud, was defeated by a Tory incumbent in Wilmot-Summerside.
