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. The Progressive Conservatives under new leader Dennis King won thirteen seats (including the deferred seat) to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

. The Greens under leader

Peter Bevan-Baker Peter Stewart Bevan-Baker (born 3 June 1962) 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 Isla ...

won eight seats to form the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

. The Liberals under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Wade MacLauchlan H. Wade MacLauchlan (born 10 December 1954), is a Canadian legal academic, university administrator, politician and community leader. He served as the fifth president of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1999 to 2011, becoming preside ...

were reduced to six seats and MacLauchlan lost in his own district. The Progressive Conservatives' share of the popular vote was steady at 37%, the Green Party enjoyed a 20 point increase to 31%, and the Liberals' share dropped 11 points to 30%. The Greens won several seats in or near the two cities of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

and Summerside, while the Progressive Conservatives took several more rural seats from the Liberals. A referendum on electoral reform that asked Islanders if they wished to adopt a

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

voting system was held in conjunction with the election. The initiative failed to pass in at least 60% of the districts as required under provincial legislation to proceed so the province did not change from the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system in subsequent elections. As well, the Island-wide popular vote showed about 51% of voters voted to stay with the current

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

system while about 49% voted for the proposed change. The election was the first time since the 1890 Prince Edward Island general election that the province elected a minority government, the first time in the province's history that a significant number of voters turned to a third party besides the dominant Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, and the first time that a Green Party reached official opposition status in any Canadian provincial legislature.

Background

Under the provisions of the Prince Edward Island Elections Act, an election was required by the fixed date of 7 October 2019, unless it was called earlier. After months of speculation of an early election call, Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced the election at a rally on 26 March. In the previous election, on 4 May 2015, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, led by Premier Wade MacLauchlan, was re-elected to a majority government, earning election in 18 out of the 27 ridings (and down 2 from their pre-election total). The

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

Progressive Conservatives, under leader Rob Lantz, increased its seat count from 3 before the election to 8, despite Lantz losing in Charlottetown-Brighton. Meanwhile, the Green Party, under leader

, won its first ever seat, Bevan-Baker's, in Kellys Cross-Cumberland. The NDP were unable to win a seat, continuing their streak of being shut out of the legislature since

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Despite the increase in the Progressive Conservatives' seat count, on 23 September of that year, Lantz stepped down as leader. Since Lantz's departure, The Progressive Conservatives held two leadership elections: one on 20 October 2017, selecting MLA James Aylward as their leader; and again on 9 February 2019, choosing Dennis King as their new leader following Aylward's announcement on 27 September 2018 his intention to resign when his successor was chosen.

Historical results from 1993 onwards

Results

Source
electionspei.ca
, - !rowspan="2" colspan="2" align=left, Party !rowspan="2" align=left, Party leader !rowspan="2", Candidates !colspan="4" align=center, Seats !colspan="3" style="text-align:center;", Popular vote , - !align="center",

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!align="center", Dissol. !align="center", 2019 ! style="text-align:center;", Change ! style="text-align:center;", # ! style="text-align:center;", % ! style="text-align:center;", Change , align=left, Dennis King , align="right", 27 , align="right", 8 , align="right", 8 , align="right", 13 , align="right", +5 , align="right", 30,415 , align="right", 36.73 , align="right", –0.66 , align=left,

, align="right", 27 , align="right", 1 , align="right", 2 , align="right", 8 , align="right", +7 , align="right", 25,302 , align="right", 30.55 , align="right", +19.74 , align=left,

, align="right", 27 , align="right", 18 , align="right", 16 , align="right", 6 , align="right", –12 , align="right", 24,346 , align="right", 29.41 , align="right", –11.42 , align=left, Joe Byrne , align="right", 24 , align="right", 0 , align="right", 0 , align="right", 0 , align="right", – , align="right", 2,454 , align="right", 2.96 , align="right", –8.01 , colspan="2" align="left",

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, align="right", 3 , align="right", 0 , align="right", 1 , align="right", 0 , align="right", - , align="right", 282 , align="right", 0.34 , align="right", +0.34 , - !colspan="11", , - , colspan="8" align=left, Blank and invalid ballots , align="right", 386 , align="right", 0.46 , align="right", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="3", Total , style="text-align:right;", 108 , style="text-align:right;", 27 , style="text-align:right;", 27 , style="text-align:right;", 27 , style="text-align:right;", , style="text-align:right;", 83,185 , style="text-align:right;", 100 , style="text-align:right;", , - , colspan="8" align=left, Registered voters / turnout , align="right", 107,109 , align="right", 77.66 , align="right",

Synopsis of results

: = open seat : = turnout is above provincial average : = incumbent re-elected in same riding : = previously incumbent in another riding : = other incumbent renominated

Results by region

Detailed analysis

Timeline

2015

* 4 May – The

, led by Premier

, wins a majority government and the Progressive Conservative Party forms the opposition. The Green Party, under leader

, wins its first ever seat, with Bevan-Baker winning Kellys Cross-Cumberland. * 23 September – Progressive Conservative leader Rob Lantz resigns, effective that day. * 15 October –

Jamie Fox James Patrick Fox (October 30, 1954 – February 20, 2017) was an American politician and political strategist. He twice served as New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation and also worked for the Port ...

, MLA for Borden-Kinkora, is chosen as the Progressive Conservative interim leader, defeating opponent Darlene Compton.

2016

* 1 August – Liberal MLA for Summerside-Wilmot Janice Sherry resigns her seat. * 17 October – Chris Palmer is elected in the Summerside-Wilmot by-election, retaining the seat for the Liberals. * 27 October – Voting for the 2016 Plebiscite on Democratic Renewal, a non-binding referendum on changing the electoral system, begins. * 7 November – Voting in the 2016 Plebiscite on Democratic Renewal ends, indicating

mixed member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

as the preferred choice for electing MLAs. * 22 November – The Legislative Assembly does not adopt the Plebiscite on Democratic Renewal's results and instead approves a motion to hold a second referendum at the next provincial election.

2017

*19 October – Liberal MLA for Charlottetown-Parkdale Doug Currie resigns his seat. *20 October – James Aylward, MLA for Stratford-Kinlock, is chosen as the Progressive Conservative leader, defeating opponent Brad Trivers. *27 November – Green candidate Hannah Bell wins the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the seat of Charlottetown-Parkdale, doubling the Green caucus to two and becoming the first time in PEI politics, that a provincial third-party won a by-election.

2018

*31 January – MLA for West Royalty-Springvale Bush Dumville leaves the

, becomes an independent. *14 February – Anticipating an early General Election, the Greens call for potential candidates "to make themselves known". *7 April – Joe Byrne is elected leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island. *13 June – The ''Electoral System Referendum Act'' is passed by the Legislative Assembly, scheduling a referendum on electoral reform for the same date as the provincial election. Voters will be asked if they support Prince Edward Island changing its electoral system to

. *17 September – Progressive Conservative leader James Aylward announces pending resignation, to take effect upon selection of successor.

2019

*1 February – Campaign period for the electoral reform referendum begins, making an election likely for the spring. *9 February – Dennis King is elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island. *26 March – Premier

advises Lieutenant Governor

Antoinette Perry Mary Antoinette "Tony" Perry (June 27, 1888June 28, 1946) was an American actress, producer, director and administrator, known for her work in theatre, she was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing and is the namesake of the To ...

to dissolve the legislature and call an early election. *20 April – The election in the riding of Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park is formally delayed as a result of the death of Green Party candidate Josh Underhay. *23 April – General election held. *13 June – Deferred election date announced for Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park. *6 July – Advance voting in Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park deferred election began, also took place on 8 and 12 July. *15 July – Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park deferred election held, Progressive Conservative candidate Natalie Jameson is elected.

Opinion polls

The following is a list of scientific

opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of qu ...

s of published voter intentions.

Candidates

*Party leaders' names are in bold; cabinet ministers' names are in ''italics''. *Incumbents not running for re-election are denoted with a dagger †.

Cardigan

, - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 4. Belfast-Murray River , , Ian MacPherson
615 - 20.91% , , , Darlene Compton
1,545 - 52.53% , , James Sanders
781 - 26.56% , , , , , , , Darlene Compton , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 2. Georgetown-Pownal , , Kevin Doyle
663 - 21.60% , , , Steven Myers
1,493 - 48.63% , , Susan Hartley
865 - 28.18% , , Edith Perry
49 - 1.60% , , , , , Steven Myers
'' Georgetown-St. Peters'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 5. Mermaid-Stratford , , Randy Cooper
902 - 29.81% , , Mary Ellen McInnis
934 - 30.87% , , , Michele Beaton
1,152 - 38.07% , , Lawrence Millar
38 - 1.26% , , , , , Alan McIsaac†
'' Vernon River-Stratford'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 3. Montague-Kilmuir , , Daphne Griffin
785 -26.55% , , , Cory Deagle
1,373 - 46.43% , , John Allen MacLean
675 - 22.83% , , Billy Cann
124 - 4.19% , , , , , Allen Roach† , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 7. Morell-Donagh , , Susan Myers
557 - 18.32% , , , Sidney MacEwen
1,752 - 57.61% , , Kyle MacDonald
697 - 22.92% , , Margaret Andrade
35 - 1.15% , , , , , Sidney MacEwen
'' Morell-Mermaid'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 1. Souris-Elmira , , Tommy Kickham
861 - 28.59% , , , Colin LaVie
1,347 - 44.72% , , Boyd Leard
804 - 26.69% , , , , , , , Colin LaVie , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 8. Stanhope-Marshfield , ,

1,196 - 36.36% , , ,

Bloyce Thompson Bloyce Thompson is a Canadians, 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 Stanhope-Marshfield as a member of the Progr ...

1,300 - 39.53% , , Sarah Donald
747 - 22.71% , , Marian White
46 - 1.40% , , , , , ''Wade MacLauchlan''
'' York-Oyster Bed'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 6. Stratford-Keppoch , , David Dunphy
882 - 29.52% , , , James Aylward
1,270 - 42.50% , , Devon Strang
805 - 26.94% , , Lynne Thiele
31 - 1.04% , , , , , James Aylward
'' Stratford-Kinlock''

Malpeque

, - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 19. Borden-Kinkora , , Jamie Stride
417 - 12.93% , , ,

1,680 - 52.11% , , Matthew MacFarlane
1,041 - 32.29% , , Joan Gauvin
32 - 0.99% , , Fred McCardle
54 - 1.67% , , , Jamie Fox , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 15. Brackley-Hunter River , , Windsor Wight
899 - 28.54% , , , Dennis King
1,315 - 41.75% , , Greg Bradley
879 - 27.90% , , Leah-Jane Hayward
57 - 1.81% , , , , , Bush Dumville
'' West Royalty-Springvale'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 16. Cornwall-Meadowbank , , , Heath MacDonald
1,643 - 47.90% , , Elaine Barnes
602 - 17.55% , , Ellen Jones
1,137 - 33.15% , , Craig Nash
48 - 1.40% , , , , , Heath MacDonald , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 20. Kensington-Malpeque , , Nancy Beth Guptill
389 - 12.03% , , , Matthew MacKay
2,008 - 62.11% , , Matthew J. MacKay
805 - 24.90% , , Carole MacFarlane
31 - 0.96% , , , , , Matthew MacKay , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 17. New Haven-Rocky Point , , Judy MacNevin
515 - 14.80% , , Kris Currie
1,068 - 30.70% , , ,

1,870 - 53.75% , , , , Don Wills
26 - 0.75% , , , Peter Bevan-Baker
'' Kellys Cross-Cumberland'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 18. Rustico-Emerald , , Alexander (Sandy) MacKay
489 - 14.65% , , , Brad Trivers
1,920 - 57.52% , , Colin Jeffrey
899 - 26.93% , , Sean Deagle
30 - 0.90% , , , , , Brad Trivers

Charlottetown

, - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 11. Charlottetown-Belvedere , , Roxanne Carter-Thompson
846 - 26.56% , , Ronnie Carragher
998 - 31.33% , , , Hannah Bell
1,286 - 40.38% , , Trevor Leclerc
55 - 1.73% , , , , , Hannah Bell
'' Charlottetown-Parkdale'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 13. Charlottetown-Brighton , , '' Jordan Brown''
1,223 - 37.88% , , Donna Hurry
567 - 17.56% , , , Ole Hammarlund
1,301 - 40.29% , , Simone Webster
138 - 4.27% , , , , , ''Jordan Brown'' , - , rowspan=2 bgcolor="whitesmoke", 9. Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park , , Karen Lavers
635 25.71% , , , Natalie Jameson
1,080 43.72% , , John Andrew
709 - 28.70% , , Gordon Gay
46 - 1.86% , , , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2, Buck Watts†
'' Tracadie-Hillsborough Park'' , - , colspan=10 align="center", ''Election deferred, held on 15 July 2019 due to the death of Green Party candidate Josh Underhay'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 12. Charlottetown-Victoria Park , , '' Richard Brown''
875 - 27.86% , , Tim Keizer
656 - 20.89% , , , Karla Bernard
1,272 - 40.50% , , Joe Byrne
338 - 10.76% , , , , , ''Richard Brown'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 14. Charlottetown-West Royalty , , , Gord McNeilly
1,079 - 35.16% , , Angus Birt
766 - 24.96% , , Gavin Hall
966 - 31.48% , , Janis Newman
56 - 1.82% , , Bush Dumville
202 - 6.58% , , , Kathleen Casey†
'' Charlottetown-Lewis Point'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 10. Charlottetown-Winsloe , , , '' Robert Mitchell''
1,420 - 41.97% , , Mike Gillis
865 - 25.57% , , Amanda Morrison
1,057 - 31.24% , , Jesse Reddin Cousins
41 - 1.21% , , , , , ''Robert Mitchell''
'' Charlottetown-Sherwood''

Egmont

, - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 26. Alberton-Bloomfield , , '' Pat Murphy''
1,153 - 40.02% , , , Ernie Hudson
1,312 - 45.54% , , James McKenna
317 - 11.00% , , Michelle Arsenault
99 - 3.44% , , , ''Pat Murphy''
'' Alberton-Roseville'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 24. Evangeline-Miscouche , , , '' Sonny Gallant''
1,100 - 44.55% , , Jason Woodbury
575 - 23.29% , , Nick Arsenault
761 - 30.82% , , Grant Gallant
33 - 1.34% , , , ''Sonny Gallant'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 25. O'Leary-Inverness , , , '' Robert Henderson''
1,102 - 40.92% , , Barb Broome
462 - 17.16% , , Jason Charette
231 - 8.58% , , Herb Dickieson
898 - 33.35% , , , ''Robert Henderson'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 22. Summerside-South Drive , , '' Tina Mundy''
938 - 31.61% , , Paul Walsh
662 - 22.31% , , , Steve Howard
1,302 - 43.88% , , Garth Oatway
65 - 2.19% , , , ''Tina Mundy''
'' Summerside-St. Eleanors'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 21. Summerside-Wilmot , , '' Chris Palmer''
892 - 27.65% , , Tyler DesRoches
1,037 - 32.15% , , , Lynne Lund
1,258 - 39.00% , , Paulette Halupa
39 - 1.21% , , , ''Chris Palmer'' , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 27. Tignish-Palmer Road , , , Hal Perry
1,388 - 49.25% , , Melissa Handrahan
802 - 28.46% , , Sean Doyle
584 - 20.72% , , Dale Ryan
44 - 1.56% , , , Hal Perry , - , bgcolor="whitesmoke", 23. Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke , , '' Paula Biggar''
882 - 28.54% , , Hilton MacLennan
1,026 - 33.20% , , , Trish Altass
1,101 - 35.63% , , Robin Enman
81 - 2.62% , , , ''Paula Biggar''
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