Egmont a riding to watch

Tories have had federal success in Prince County, while Greens have elected MLAs from the area

All four ridings in P.E.I. have voted reliably Liberal since the late 1980s.

But, provincially, the Island has seen a sea-change from red to blueish green.

Last spring’s provincial vote saw the defeat of the three-term Liberal government, as well as the rise of the Progressive Conservatives, under the leadership of Dennis King. But the province’s Green party, buoyed by Leader Peter Bevan-Baker, became the Official Opposition — a first for any provincial arm of party in Canada.

It’s difficult to say whether any party poses a serious challenge to this Liberal hold on P.E.I. But political watchers in the province will be paying close attention to the ridings of Charlottetown and Egmont on Monday night.

The riding of Egmont has been the only P.E.I. district to choose a non-Liberal MP since 1988.

Former Conservative fisheries minister Gail Shea represented the riding from 2008 until 2015 when she was defeated by Liberal Bobby Morrissey.

The now incumbent Morrissey is a familiar name in P.E.I. politics. As a provincial cabinet minister in the 1990s, he played a significant role in redeveloping the former military base in Summerside into a regional hub for aerospace manufacturing.

This time around, he is facing two younger opponents in 26-year old financial adviser Logan McLellan, the Conservative candidate, and 30-year old brewery owner Alex Clark, the Green candidate.

McLellan has been running a social media-heavy campaign since January. He has described himself as a “progressive conservative” and has maintained a disciplined focus on local issues in the district. He has generally avoided federal Conservative messaging aimed at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Provincially, three of the seven ridings in Egmont sent Greens to the legislature. These three ridings surrounded the City of Summerside. Clark is hoping this urban support will translate into votes for the federal Greens.

The NDP is represented by Sharon Dunn, who retired after managing a senior citizen’s housing co-operative.

At a recent all-candidates' debate, several of those running raised the shortage of doctors in the largely rural riding as a key concern. Like Charlottetown, Summerside is also facing a chronic lack of affordable rental housing, as well as long waitlists for seniors' housing.