Prince Edward Island general election, 2011

Prince Edward Island general election, 2011

October 3, 2011

27 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 14 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   PC Leader Robert Ghiz Olive Crane Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since April 5, 2003 October 2, 2010 Leader's seat Charlottetown-Brighton Morell-Mermaid Last election 23 seats, 52.93% 4 seats, 41.35% Seats before 24 2 Seats won 22 5 Seat change -2 +3 Percentage 51.39% 40.18% Swing -1.54% -1.17%

Map of PEI's ridings coloured in based on how they voted

Premier before election Robert Ghiz Liberal Premier-designate

The 64th Prince Edward Island general election was held on October 3, 2011.^[1][2]

The Liberal government of Robert Ghiz was elected to a second majority government, winning one seat less than they did in 2007. Ghiz himself considered 18 seats to be a marker for a strong majority. He won 22.

Health care was an important issue during the election, especially in rural areas.^[3]

The Progressive Conservatives retained their position as Official Opposition, winning five seats. Olive Crane used the issue of the Provincial Nominee Program during the election, as well as issues surrounding immigration and investments that came under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Federal Minister Jason Kenney during the election.^[4]

Results

Both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives lost votes, and lost in the share of vote. Turnout was down and seven thousand fewer voters cast ballots total. The Greens and New Democrats increased both their raw vote and their share of the vote, and the new Island party took nearly a full percentage point. Three incumbent Liberal MLAs were defeated by Progressive Conservatives; the Progressive Conservatives retained one of the two seats they held at the dissolution of the previous legislature, as well as one vacant seat which they held prior to the resignation of Michael Currie from the legislature in March 2011, while the Liberals gained one seat whose Progressive Conservative incumbent did not stand for re-election.

The election saw one riding, Kellys Cross-Cumberland, have six candidates, a rarity in PEI elections.

The PC Party solidified their base in central-east PEI, winning four ridings that were part of the federal riding of Cardigan, and carried the region. The PC Party also managed to win a single seat on the northern tip of the Island.

Summary of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island election results

Party		Party leader	Candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				2007	Dissol.	2011	Change	#	%	Change
	Liberal	Robert Ghiz	27	23	24	22	-1	38,315	51.38%	-1.55%
	Progressive Conservative	Olive Crane	27	4	2	5	+1	29,950	40.16%	-1.19%
	Green	Sharon Labchuk	22	-	-	0		3,254	4.36%	+1.32%
	New Democratic	James Rodd	14	-	-	0		2,355	3.16%	+1.20%
	Island	Billy Cann	12	*	-	0		682	0.91%	*
	Independents and no affiliation		1	-	-	0		15	0.02%	-0.71%
	Vacant		-	-	1
Total			103	27	27	27		74,571

* The Island Party of Prince Edward Island was not a registered political party at the time of the 2007 election.

Results by region

Party Name			Cardigan	Malpeque	Charlottetown	Egmont	Total
	Liberal	Seats:	3	8	5	6	22
		Popular Vote:	42.54%	52.87%	54.31%	57.01%	51.38%
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	4	0	0	1	5
		Popular Vote:	49.68%	38.10%	31.16%	38.89%	40.16%
Total seats:			7	8	5	7	27
Parties that won no seats:
	Green	Vote:	651	1,191	927	485	3,254
		Popular Vote:	3.32%	4.81%	7.40%	2.74%	4.36%
	NDP	Vote:	403	932	873	147	2,355
		Popular Vote:	2.06%	3.77%	6.97%	0.83%	3.16%
	Island Party	Vote:	470	98	19	95	682
		Popular Vote:	2.40%	0.40%	0.15%	0.54%	0.91%
	Independent	Vote:		15			15
		Popular Vote:		0.06%			0.02%

Incumbent MLAs not running for re-election

Progressive Conservative Michael Currie (resigned, March 28, 2011), Georgetown-St. Peters[5] Jim Bagnall, Montague-Kilmuir Opinion polls Polling Firm Date of Polling Link Liberal Progressive Conservatives Greens New Democrats Corporate Research Associates September 29, 2011 HTML 53 36 5 5 Corporate Research Associates August 28, 2011 PDF 59 31 3 7 Corporate Research Associates June 10, 2011 PDF 51 35 2 13 Corporate Research Associates March 9, 2011 PDF 62 25 2 11 Corporate Research Associates December 6, 2010 PDF 53 34 8 4 Corporate Research Associates August 24, 2010 PDF 61 30 2 6 Corporate Research Associates May 31, 2010 PDF 61 27 3 8 Corporate Research Associates February 24, 2010 HTML 64 26 4 6 Corporate Research Associates December 3, 2009 HTML 57 31 3 9 Corporate Research Associates August 2009 HTML 62 27 5 6 Corporate Research Associates May 2009 HTML 57 32 4 7 Corporate Research Associates February 2009 HTML 64 28 2 6 Corporate Research Associates November 2008 HTML 55 31 5 8 Corporate Research Associates August 2008 HTML 63 25 6 6 Corporate Research Associates May 2008 HTML 61 27 4 7 Corporate Research Associates February 2008 HTML 68 34 4 6 Corporate Research Associates November 2007 HTML 64 22 5 5 Election 2007 May 28, 2007 HTML 52.9 41.4 3.0 1.9 Riding by riding results Cardigan Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent   Liberal   PC   Green   NDP   Island   Other Belfast-Murray River Charlie McGeoghegan 1,135 - (45.86%) Darlene Compton 1,127 - (45.54%) John Burhoe 114 - (4.61%) Andy Clarey 99 - (4.00%)   Charlie McGeoghegan Georgetown-St. Peters Kevin Gotell 1,214 - (41.08%)   Steven Myers 1,575 - (53.30%) Jason Furness 47 - (1.59%) Jane Dunphy 87 - (2.94%) Ray Cantelo 32 - (1.08%)   Vacant Montague-Kilmuir Allen Roach 1,127 - (46.57%) Greg Farrell 1,004 - (41.49%) Vanessa Young 89 - (3.68%)   Billy Cann 200 - (8.26%)   Jim Bagnall† Morell-Mermaid Dan MacDonald 1,033 - (36.51%)   Olive Crane 1,649 - (58.29%) Darcie Lanthier 114 - (4.03%) Roger Nowe 33 - (1.17%) Olive Crane Souris-Elmira Allan Campbell 1,272 - (47.46%) Colin LaVie 1,302 - (48.58%) Jason MacGregor 106 - (3.96%) Allan Campbell Stratford-Kinlock Cynthia Dunsford 1,241 - (34.15%)   James Aylward 2,020 - (55.59%) Donald Killorn 168 - (4.62%) Chris van Ouwerkerk 205 - (5.64%)   Cynthia Dunsford Vernon River-Stratford   Alan McIsaac 1,311 - (50.52%) Mary Ellen McInnis 1,054 - (40.62%) Marion Pirch 119 - (4.59%) Edith Perry 111 - (4.28%)   Alan McIsaac Malpeque Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent   Liberal   PC   Green   NDP   Island   Other Borden-Kinkora George Webster 1,590 - (49.41%) Jamie Fox 1,468 - (45.62%) Conor Leggott 160 - (4.97%)     George Webster Cornwall-Meadowbank   Ron MacKinley 1,686 - (63.46%) Larry Hogan 756 - (28.45%) Allieanna Ballagh 172 - (6.47%) Jay Gallant 43 - (1.62%) Ron MacKinley Kellys Cross-Cumberland   Valerie Docherty 1,768 - (54.10%) Neila Auld 960 - (29.38%) Peter Bevan-Baker 306 - (9.36%) Jesse Reddin Cousins 182 - (5.56%) Paul Smitz 37 - (1.13%) Arthur C. Mackenzie 15 - (0.46%) Valerie Docherty Kensington-Malpeque   Wes Sheridan 1,820 - (57.18%) Wilber Lamont 1,165 - (36.60%) George S. Hunter 198 - (6.22%) Wes Sheridan Rustico-Emerald Carolyn Bertram 1,498 (49.50%) Brad Trivers 1,341 - (44.32%) Ron Wagner 187- (6.18%)       Carolyn Bertram York-Oyster Bed   Robert Vessey 1,988 - (55.30%) Martie Murphy 1,235 - (34.25%) Jenet Clement 122 - (3.39%) James Rodd 250 - (6.95%)   Robert Vessey Charlottetown Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent   Liberal   PC   Green   NDP   Island   Other Charlottetown-Brighton   Robert Ghiz 1,228 - (52.46%) Linda Clements 699 - (29.86%) Elizabeth Schoales 238 - (10.17%) Trevor John LeClerc 176 - (7.52%)       Robert Ghiz Charlottetown-Lewis Point   Kathleen Casey 1,411 - (52.01%) Parnell Kelly 895 - (32.99%) Charles Sanderson 132 - (4.87%) Jacquie Robichaud 275 - (10.14%)       Kathleen Casey Charlottetown-Parkdale   Doug Currie 1,510 - (61.76%) Bernie Flynn 665 - (27.20%) Eliza Knockwood 152 - (6.22%) Noel Pauley 118 - (4.83%)     Doug Currie Charlottetown-Sherwood   Robert Mitchell 1,538 - (53.93%) Mike Gillis 1,060 - (37.17%) Sarah Jones 127 - (4.45%) Kat Murphy 127 - (4.45%)     Robert Mitchell Charlottetown-Victoria Park   Richard Brown 1,112- (51.29%) Myles MacKinnon 582- (26.85%) Sharon Labchuk 278 - (12.82%) Rita Jackson 177 - (8.16%) Philip Stewart 19 - (0.88%)     Richard Brown Tracadie-Hillsborough Park Buck Watts 1,304 - (48.53%) Glen Kelly 1,136 - (42.28%) Helene LaRouche 93 - (3.46%) Ron Kelly 136 - (5.06%) Gary Chipman 18 - (0.67%)   Buck Watts West Royalty-Springvale Bush Dumville 1,432 - (45.93%) Gary Bowness 1,369 - (43.91%) Liz Vaine 151 - (4.84%) Andrew Want 166 - (5.32%)     Bush Dumville Egmont Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent   Liberal   PC   Green   NDP   Island   Other Alberton-Roseville   Pat Murphy 1,604 - (56.18%) David Gordon 1,137 - (39.82%) Gerald O'Meara 71 - (2.49%) Mitch Gallant 43 - (1.51%)     Pat Murphy Evangeline-Miscouche   Sonny Gallant 1,722 - (77.22%) Edgar Arsenault 418 - (18.74%) Melissa Hotte 64 - (2.87%) Arthur Arsenault 26 - (1.17%)     Sonny Gallant O'Leary-Inverness   Robert Henderson 1,431 - (55.51%) Daniel MacDonald 1,147 - (44.49%)         Robert Henderson Summerside-St. Eleanors   Gerard Greenan 1,426 - (51.76%) Merlin Cormier 1,037 - (37.64%) Caleb Adams 145 - (5.26%) Paulette Halupa 147 - (5.30%)   Gerard Greenan Summerside-Wilmot   Janice Sherry 1,382 - (54.74%) Shirley Anne Cameron 937 - (37.12%) Rosalyn Ridlington Abbott 205 - (8.12%)     Janice Sherry Tignish-Palmer Road Neil LeClair 1,142 (48.74%) Hal Perry 1,175 - (50.15%)   Derek D. Peters 26 - (1.11%)     Neil LeClair Tyne Valley-Linkletter   Paula Biggar 1,390 - (57.27%) Jim Henwood 1,037 - (42.73%)       Paula Biggar References Wayne Thibodeau (January 11, 2011). "Next election will be fought on new ideas, not new spending: Ghiz". the Guardian. Retrieved January 21, 2011. John Ibbitson (January 10, 2011). "Can Harper wait out the election traffic jam?". Ottawa Notebook (Toronto: Globe and Mail). Retrieved January 21, 2011. "Ghiz wins 2nd term as P.E.I. premier". CBC News. October 3, 2011. "Crane and 4 Tories voted in". CBC News. October 4, 2011. "Currie to run in Cardigan". CBC News, March 28, 2011. External links Election Almanac - Prince Edward Island Provincial Election 2011