Seeking the nod
Summerside resident hoping to become leader of provincial Progressive Conservatives
Alan and Glenda Mulholland have had a lot of adventures together over the years but their next may prove to be the most challenging: politics. Alan has put his name forward to be the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I. Nominations for the party’s leadership opened April 3 and the position will be filled on the evening of Oct. 20. Attempts to contact provincial party officials on Wednesday by the Journal Pioneer to confirm the number leadership hopefuls interested in the position to date were not successful at deadline.
Alan is newcomer to politics, but believes he has the life experience and skills to make a difference in that arena. “Throughout my whole career I’ve had a keen interest in
politics,” he said.
Alan was born in Ireland, but immigrated to Canada with his family when he was six years
old and grew up in Edmonton. After high school he attended the Royal Military College and served nine years in the military. “It made a big difference in how I viewed Canada and how I viewed the world,” he said.
After leaving the military Alan retrained as a carpenter and operated his own construction and renovation business. It was during that time that he took a year off from work to built his own 26-foot sailing ship, which he then spent two years sailing around the Pacific Ocean.
Eventually he sold his ship, flew home to Canada and met and married Glenda.
They spent seven years living in an off-the-grid property on a small island off Vancouver Island. Alan also spent a number of those years teaching abroad. Eight years ago the couple moved to P.E.I. and purchased some land in Ellerslie where they built a homestead, growing and raising much of their own food.
They arrived in May that first year, said Alan, and their plan was to camp on the property while they built their home. But, coming from B.C., they were unprepared for early spring on the East Coast.
“I nearly froze that first night, I had to come in to Summerside to buy a toque.”
Eventually, they sold their Ellerslie property and bought a home in Summerside. Given his background people often wonder why he wouldn’t run for the Green Party or Liberals. However, Alan sees no conflict between his way of life and conservative ideology.
“I do have very progressive social values, that’s a fact. But I balance those with my fiscal conservatism,” he said.
“We cannot afford our social programs unless we live within our means. And really, living within your means is … is also a tenant of the environmental movement – using what resources we have and not going beyond that.”
“So they are aligned.”
His main concern over the next six months will be to meet as many Islanders as possible in order to let get their feedback and allow them to get to know him, he added.