Prince Edward Island.

• Author: Reddin, Ryan
• Position: Legislative Reports

Dissolution of the 65th General Assembly

On March 26, 2019, on the advice of Executive Council, Chief Justice David Jenkins, as Administrator of the province acting in place of Lieutenant Governor Antoinette Perry, dissolved the Legislative Assembly and ordered that writs be issued for a general election to take place on April 23, 2019.

General Election

The 2019 election will be carried out in districts that have changed since the last election in 2015. Upon recommendation of the Electoral Boundaries Commission in 2017, almost all of PEI's 27 electoral districts were adjusted in order to have a variance of less than 10% from the provincial average number of electors (3,700) within their boundaries. The only exception was the district of Evangeline--Miscouche, where a greater variance from the average was considered justified by the need to protect Acadian language, culture and tradition in the province. Several districts were renamed in the process. Under the Electoral Boundaries Act, an Electoral Boundaries Commission is established after every three general elections to review the districts of the province and report to the Legislative Assembly its recommendations on the area, boundaries, and names of the districts of the province.

As of April 1, 2019, Elections PEI listed 73 candidates as officially registered, as follows: 17 Green Party, two Independent, 23 Liberal Party, six New Democratic Party, and 25 Progressive Conservative Party.

Four members of the 65th General Assembly have opted not to reoffer in the 2019 election. Speaker Francis (Buck) Watts (District 8, Tracadie--Hillsborough Park) was first elected in 2007, re-elected in 2011 and 2015, and has served as Speaker since June, 2015. Deputy Speaker Kathleen Casey (District 14, Charlottetown--Lewis Point) was first elected in 2007, re-elected in 2011 and 2015, and served as Speaker from 2007 to 2011. J. Alan McIsaac (District 5, Vernon River--Stratford) was first elected in 2007, re-elected in 2011 and 2015, and served variously as Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture; Justice and Public Safety; and Agriculture and Fisheries. He also served as Government House Leader. Allen Roach (District 3, Montague--Kilmuir) was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015, and served as Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning, and subsequently as Minister of Finance.

Electoral System Referendum

As established by the 2018 Electoral System Referendum Act, a referendum on PEI's...