Byelection one to watch
The dance card is now full and voters in Charlottetown-Parkdale are becoming accustomed to the pre-holiday sound of would-be politicians knocking at their door.
The four parties are pulling out all the stops in an effort to take over the mantle of former education minister Doug Currie. Now into the third year of their mandate, the Wade MacLauchlan government clearly wants to hold on to the seat. They have won the only byelection held since they came to office, with Chris Palmer succeeding Janice Sherry in Summerside-Wilmot.
It is a trend they want to continue and they have handed the task to city councillor Bob Doiron. The Liberals are obviously hoping a convincing victory would show Islanders are still firmly behind the government as it prepares to win what has historically been an elusive fourth term in 2019. Alex Campbell accomplished the feat between 1966 and 1978, with both the first and last mandates offering only a two-seat majority.
If one of the opposition parties takes the seat, they will argue voters have given the current administration a failing grade. Newly-minted Progressive Conservative leader James Aylward would dearly love to kick-off his tenure with a win on Nov. 27. The Tories also went to Charlottetown city hall to recruit their candidate - veteran councillor Melissa Hilton.
Then they picked a needless fight with Elections P.E.I. when her campaign signs were put up before she was officially nominated. The Conservatives refused to back down even when ordered by Elections P.E.I. and the non-partisan agency that governs elections in the province is now looking at legal action.
It is hard to envision a scenario where having an election sign up a few hours early would make a significant difference in the outcome, but rules are rules and it is hard to see what the Conservatives hoped to gain by picking this fight. Hopefully, Aylward is not taking a page out of the playbook of former federal Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who seemed to battle with Elections Canada at every turn.
Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker has been a strong performer since his convincing win in Kelly’s Cross-Cumberland in 2015, and the party sees this byelection as a chance to put a second member inside the rail and prove they are a force to be reckoned with in Island politics. They had the first contested nominating convention in the party’s history and Hannah Bell has frequently been accompanied by her popular leader on the campaign trail.
For New Democratic Party leader Mike Redmond, the byelection could be an opportunity to return the party to the legislature and silence any criticism about his leadership. He grew up in the riding, although he now lives in the Montague area and ran in Montaugue-Kilmuir in the last election.
The byelection will form the backdrop when the legislature opens for the fall session Nov. 14. Expect even more political posturing than usual in an attempt to influence voters who will be represented this session by Doug Currie’s empty chair.