2015 Prince Edward Island general election

The 2015 Prince Edward Island general election was held on 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 governing Liberals were elected to a third consecutive majority government under Premier Wade MacLauchlan. At the same time, the Progressive Conservatives made slight gains despite party leader Rob Lantz failing to win the election in Charlottetown-Brighton. The Green Party, meanwhile, won its first seat in the legislature, with leader Peter Bevan-Baker elected in Kellys 'Cross-Cumberland. The New Democratic Party was shut out.

Results

+ ↓ 18 8 1 Liberal Progressive Conservative GP

|align=left|Wade MacLauchlan |align="right"|27 |align="right"|22 |align="right"|20 |align="right"|18 |align="right"| −4 |align="right"|33,481 |align="right"|40.83% |align="right"|−10.55%

|align=left|Rob Lantz |align="right"|27 |align="right"|5 |align="right"|3 |align="right"|8 |align="right"| +3 |align="right"|30,663 |align="right"|37.39% |align="right"|−2.77%

|align=left|Peter Bevan-Baker |align="right"|24 |align="right"|0 |align="right"|0 |align="right"|1 |align="right"| +1 |align="right"|8,857 |align="right"|10.81% |align="right"|+6.45%

|align=left|Michael Redmond |align="right"|27 |align="right"|0 |align="right"|0 |align="right"|0 |align="right"| |align="right"|8,997 |align="right"|10.97% |align="right"|+7.81%

Synopsis of results + 2015 PEI general election - synopsis of riding results Riding FederalRiding 2011 Winning party Turnoutincluding spoilt ballots Votesminor political parties receiving less than 1% of the national popular vote are aggregated under "Other"; independent candidates are aggregated separately Party Votes Share Margin# Margin% Lib PC Green NDP Total Alberton-Roseville26EGM Lib Lib1,569 53.7%403 13.8% 85.6%1,569 1,166 – 188 2,923Belfast-Murray River4CAR Lib PC1,203 45.1%108 4.0% 85.5%1,095 1,203 152 216 2,666Borden-Kinkora19MPQ Lib PC1,597 47.1%443 13.1% 82.7%1,154 1,597 511 126 3,388Charlottetown-Brightonalso an open seat13CHA Lib Lib1,054 39.0%22 0.8% 85.6%1,054 1,032 352 265 2,703Charlottetown-Lewis Point14CHA Lib Lib1,040 34.3%109 3.6% 79.9%1,040 821 244 931 3,036Charlottetown-Parkdale11CHA Lib Lib1,166 43.7%467 17.5% 79.9%1,166 699 511 292 2,668Charlottetown-Sherwood10CHA Lib Lib1,425 45.8%394 12.7% 81.8%1,425 1,031 295 360 3,111Charlottetown-Victoria Park12CHA Lib Lib955 39.4%289 11.9% 80.7%955 666 456 348 2,425Cornwall-Meadowbank16MPQ Lib Lib1,444 46.3%388 12.5% 81.5%1,444 1,056 377 243 3,120Evangeline-Miscouche24EGM Lib Lib1,419 62.6%833 25.8% 85.9%1,419 586 125 138 2,268Georgetown-St. Peters2CAR PC PC1,448 48.0%278 9.2% 84.8%1,170 1,448 145 256 3,019Kellys Cross-Cumberland17MPQ Lib Grn2,077 54.8%1,031 27.2% 85.2%1,046 609 2,077 58 3,790Kensington-Malpeque20MPQ Lib PC1,984 54.3%951 26.0% 82.3%1,033 1,984 374 264 3,655Montague-Kilmuir3CAR Lib Lib1,060 41.8%275 10.8% 82.5%1,060 785 106 585 2,536Morell-Mermaid7CAR PC PC1,501 50.0%387 12.9% 82.8%1,114 1,501 177 211 3,004O'Leary-Inverness25EGM Lib Lib1,310 48.8%247 8.9% 81.2%1,310 1,063 – 311 2,684Rustico-Emerald18MPQ Lib PC1,585 47.2%433 12.9% 85.7%1,152 1,585 325 294 3,356Souris-Elmira1CAR PC PC1,179 44.4%228 8.6% 86.2%951 1,179 – 528 2,658Stratford-Kinlock6CAR PC PC2,155 50.3%702 16.4% 81.4%1,453 2,155 330 350 4,288Summerside-St. Eleanors22EGM Lib Lib1,246 41.2%148 4.9% 75.6%1,246 1,098 321 358 3,023Summerside-Wilmot21EGM Lib Lib1,135 39.4%30 1.0% 74.8%1,135 1,105 285 353 2,878Tignish-Palmer Road27EGM PC Lib1,486 58.2%668 26.1% 87.6%1,486 818 167 81 2,552Tracadie-Hillsborough Park8CHA Lib Lib1,354 45.7%528 17.9% 76.6%1,354 826 237 549 2,966Tyne Valley-Linkletter23EGM Lib Lib1,147 43.0%337 12.7% 77.8%1,147 810 240 473 2,670Vernon River-Stratford5CAR Lib Lib1,173 41.3%– – 83.3%1,173 1,173 234 258 2,838West Royalty-Springvale15CHA Lib Lib1,389 37.6%59 1.6% 82.1%1,389 1,330 462 516 3,697York-Oyster Bed9MPQ Lib Lib1,938 47.7%600 14.8% 81.1%1,938 1,338 347 442 4,065

= results as certified in a judicial recount = open seat = turnout is above provincial average = incumbent re-elected in same riding = incumbent changed allegiance = other incumbent renominated = tied for first place - settled by coin toss

+ Resulting composition of the 65th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island Source PartyLibPCGrnTotalSeats retained Incumbents returned 12 3 15Incumbent returned on coin toss 1 1Open seats held 4 1 5Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 1 1 2Open seats gained 3 3Incumbent changing affiliation 1 1Total 18 8 1 27

Results by region

+ Regional summary of results (2015)Region Seats won Vote share (%) Change (pp)LibPCGrnLibPCGrnNDPLibPCGrnNDPMajor swingCardigan2 5 – 38.16 44.95 5.45 11.44 -4.38 -4.73 +2.13 +9.38→ 6.88Malpeque2 3 1 36.33 38.21 18.76 6.69 -16.54 +0.11 +13.95 +2.92→ 15.25Charlottetown7 – – 40.69 31.08 12.41 15.82 -13.62 -0.08 +5.01 +8.85→ 11.24Egmont7 – – 49.00 34.97 6.01 10.01 -8.01 -3.92 +3.27 +9.18→ 8.60Total18 8 1 40.83 37.39 10.81 10.98 -10.55 -2.77 +6.45 +7.82→ 9.19

Timeline

2011 October 3: The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party under Robert Ghiz is re-elected with a majority government in the 64th Prince Edward Island general election.

2012 October 13: The New Democratic Party elects Michael Redmond as party leader."P.E.I. NDP elect Mike Redmond as party leader" . CBC News, October 13, 2012. November 3: The Green Party elects Peter Bevan-Baker as party leader December 5: Progressive Conservative leader Olive Crane announces her intention to resign as party leader in January 2013 after party members narrowly vote against having a leadership review. Crane further announces that she will stay on as Leader of the Opposition.

2013 January 30: Olive Crane resigns as Leader of the Opposition. The Progressive Conservative caucus names Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry, a candidate for the interim leadership, as Leader of the Opposition. January 31: Olive Crane resigns as Progressive Conservative leader. Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers is elected interim PC leader over Leader of the Opposition and Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry. Perry initially announces that he will remain Leader of the Opposition, despite Myers' urging that the party leader should hold both positions. February 11: Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry steps down as Leader of the Opposition, citing internal divisions within the Progressive Conservative Party. Interim PC leader and Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers is subsequently named Leader of the Opposition. October 3: In what is believed to be the first instance of a sitting MLA crossing the floor, Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry leaves the Progressive Conservatives to join the Liberals, citing his concerns with the federal Conservative governments changes to employment insurance. October 4: Morell-Mermaid MLA and former Progressive Conservative leader Olive Crane is kicked out of the party. Crane subsequently announces she will sit as an independent.

2014 November 13: Robert Ghiz announces he will be resigning as Premier in early 2015 as soon as the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party elects a new leader.

2015 February 21: The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party held its leadership election. As the sole candidate nominated, Wade MacLauchlan was acclaimed the new leader and incoming premier. February 23: Robert Ghiz resigns as Premier. Wade MacLauchlan is appointed and sworn in as the new Premier. Later that day, Ghiz, Wes Sheridan, and Robert Vessey resign as MLAs, triggering potential by-elections in their former seats (Charlottetown-Brighton, Kensington-Malpeque, and York-Oyster Bed, respectively). February 28: At the party's leadership election, Rob Lantz is elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island. April 6: After being nominated as the Liberal candidate for York-Oyster Bed, Premier Wade MacLauchlan dropped the writ, calling for an election on May 4, 2015. April 10: The Island Party drops out of the campaign, due to not having enough candidates April 27: Party leaders' first televised debate, held in Summerside. April 30: A second televised debate was held for the party leaders, in Charlottetown. May 4: Election results - The Liberals win a third consecutive majority government, with a reduced number of 18 seats. The Progressive Conservatives remain as the official opposition, with an increase to 8 seats. The Greens make Prince Edward Island political history, winning their first seat.

Opinion polls

Polling FirmLast date of pollingLink Liberal PC Green NDP Island OtherCorporate Research AssociatesHTML4435615Abingdon ResearchPDF43271218Corporate Research AssociatesPDF58264120Corporate Research AssociatesPDF5023111500Corporate Research AssociatesPDF482871600Corporate Research AssociatesPDF532332100Corporate Research AssociatesPDF531772201Corporate Research AssociatesPDF491772601Corporate Research AssociatesPDF422333200Corporate Research AssociatesPDF522252101Corporate Research AssociatesPDF511672600Corporate Research AssociatesPDF452852200Corporate Research AssociatesPDF423281800Corporate Research AssociatesPDF472681811Corporate Research AssociatesPDF503351100Corporate Research AssociatesPDF533449002011 election51.3840.164.363.160.910.02

Results Candidates' names appear as recorded by Elections PEI Party leaders' names are in bold; cabinet ministers' names are in italics.

Cardigan

|bgcolor="whitesmoke"|4. Belfast-Murray River | |Charlie McGeoghegan1,095 - 41.1% || |Darlene Compton1,203 - 45.1% | |Jordan MacPhee152 - 5.7% | |Alan Hicken216 - 8.1%

|Charlie McGeoghegan |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|2. Georgetown-St. Peters | |Russ Stewart1,170 - 38.8% || |Steven Myers1,448 - 48.0% | |Heather Gallant145 - 4.8% | |Nathan Bushey256 - 8.5%

|Steven Myers |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|3. Montague-Kilmuir || |Allen Roach1,060 - 41.8% | |Andrew Daggett785 - 31.0% | |Jason Furness106 - 4.2% | |Mike Redmond585 - 23.1%

|Allen Roach |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|7. Morell-Mermaid | |Daniel MacDonald1,114 - 37.1% || |Sidney MacEwen1,501 - 50.0% | |Meaghan Lister177 - 5.9% | |Edith Perry211 - 7.0%

|Olive Crane† |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|1. Souris-Elmira | |Tommy Kickham951 - 35.8% || |Colin LaVie1,179 - 44.4%

|Susan Birt528 - 19.9% || |Colin LaVie |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|6. Stratford-Kinlock | |David Dunphy1,453 - 33.9% || |James Aylward2,155 - 50.3% | |Samantha Saunders330 - 7.7% | |Chris van Ouwerkerk350 - 8.2% || |James Aylward |- |bgcolor="whitesmoke"|5. Vernon River-Stratford* || |Alan McIsaac*1,173 - 41.3% | |Mary Ellen McInnis*1,173 - 41.3% |

2015 Prince Edward Island general election

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