# 2015 Prince Edward Island general election

The 2015 Prince Edward Island general election was held May 4, 2015, to elect members of the 65th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Under amendments passed by the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in 2008, Prince Edward Island elections are usually held on the first Monday of October in the fourth calendar year, unless it is dissolved earlier by the lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island due to a motion of no confidence, or at the request of the premier. The current government had hinted that an election would be held "before Mother's Day" 2015, and such a dissolution would avoid any conflicts with the next federal election, expected to be held in October 2015.
The governing Liberals were elected to a third consecutive majority government under Premier Wade MacLauchlan, while the Progressive Conservatives made slight gains despite party leader Rob Lantz failing to win election in Charlottetown-Brighton. The Green Party, meanwhile, won its first seat in the legislature, with leader Peter Bevan-Baker elected in Kellys Cross-Cumberland. The New Democratic Party was shut out.

## Results

| 18 | 8 | 1 |
| Liberal | Progressive Conservative | GP |
Summary of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island election results :
| Party | Party | Party leader | Candidates | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote |
| Party | Party | Party leader | Candidates | 2011 | Dissol. | 2015 | Change | # | % | Change |
| | Liberal | Wade MacLauchlan | 27 | 22 | 20 | 18 | −4 | 33,481 | 40.83% | −10.55% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Rob Lantz | 27 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +3 | 30,663 | 37.39% | −2.77% |
| | Green | Peter Bevan-Baker | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 8,857 | 10.81% | +6.45% |
| | New Democratic | Michael Redmond | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8,997 | 10.97% | +7.81% |
| | Independent | Independent | | 0 | 1 | 0 | | | | |
| | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | | 3 | - | - | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 105 | 27 | 27 | 27 | | 81,998 | | |
Popular vote
Liberal
40.83%
PC
37.39%
New Democratic
10.97%
Green
10.81% :
Seats summary
Liberal
66.67%
PC
29.63%
Green
3.70% :

### Synopsis of results

* ↑ "Section 4 - Summary of Election Results". Report of the Chief Electoral Officer for the Provincial General Election - May 4, 2015 (PDF). Elections Prince Edward Island. 2015. pp. 37, 40–93. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
* ↑ including spoilt ballots
* ↑ minor political parties receiving less than 1% of the national popular vote are aggregated under "Other"; independent candidates are aggregated separately
* ↑ also an open seat
    = results as certified in a judicial recount
    = open seat
    = turnout is above provincial average
    = incumbent re-elected in same riding
    = incumbent changed allegiance
    = other incumbent renominated
    = tied for first place - settled by coin toss
Resulting composition of the 65th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island :
| Source | Source | Party | Party | Party | Party |
| Source | Source | Lib | PC | Grn | Total |
| Seats retained | Incumbents returned | 12 | 3 | | 15 |
| Seats retained | Incumbent returned on coin toss | 1 | | | 1 |
| Seats retained | Open seats held | 4 | 1 | | 5 |
| Seats changing hands | Incumbents defeated | | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Seats changing hands | Open seats gained | | 3 | | 3 |
| Seats changing hands | Incumbent changing affiliation | 1 | | | 1 |
| Total | Total | 18 | 8 | 1 | 27 |

### Results by region

Regional summary of results (2015) :
| Region | Seats won | Seats won | Seats won | Vote share (%) | Vote share (%) | Vote share (%) | Vote share (%) | Change (pp) | Change (pp) | Change (pp) | Change (pp) | Change (pp) |
| Region | Lib | PC | Grn | Lib | PC | Grn | NDP | Lib | PC | Grn | NDP | Major swing |
| Cardigan | 2 | 5 | – | 38.16 | 44.95 | 5.45 | 11.44 | -4.38 | -4.73 | +2.13 | +9.38 | → 6.88 |
| Malpeque | 2 | 3 | 1 | 36.33 | 38.21 | 18.76 | 6.69 | -16.54 | +0.11 | +13.95 | +2.92 | → 15.25 |
| Charlottetown | 7 | – | – | 40.69 | 31.08 | 12.41 | 15.82 | -13.62 | -0.08 | +5.01 | +8.85 | → 11.24 |
| Egmont | 7 | – | – | 49.00 | 34.97 | 6.01 | 10.01 | -8.01 | -3.92 | +3.27 | +9.18 | → 8.60 |
| Total | 18 | 8 | 1 | 40.83 | 37.39 | 10.81 | 10.98 | -10.55 | -2.77 | +6.45 | +7.82 | → 9.19 |

## Timeline
### 2011

* October 3: The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party under Robert Ghiz is re-elected with a majority government in the 64th Prince Edward Island general election.

### 2012

* October 13: The New Democratic Party elects Michael Redmond as party leader.
* November 3: The Green Party elects Peter Bevan-Baker as party leader
* December 5: Progressive Conservative leader Olive Crane announces her intention to resign as party leader in January 2013 after party members narrowly vote against having a leadership review. Crane further announces that she will stay on as Leader of the Opposition.

### 2013

* January 30: Olive Crane resigns as Leader of the Opposition. The Progressive Conservative caucus names Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry, a candidate for the interim leadership, as Leader of the Opposition.
* January 31: Olive Crane resigns as Progressive Conservative leader. Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers is elected interim PC leader over Leader of the Opposition and Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry. Perry initially announces that he will remain Leader of the Opposition, despite Myers' urging that the party leader should hold both positions.
* February 11: Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry steps down as Leader of the Opposition, citing internal divisions within the Progressive Conservative Party. Interim PC leader and Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers is subsequently named Leader of the Opposition.
* October 3: In what is believed to be the first instance of a sitting MLA crossing the floor, Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry leaves the Progressive Conservatives to join the Liberals, citing his concerns with the federal Conservative governments changes to employment insurance.
* October 4: Morell-Mermaid MLA and former Progressive Conservative leader Olive Crane is kicked out of the party. Crane subsequently announces she will sit as an independent.

### 2014

* November 13: Robert Ghiz announces he will be resigning as Premier in early 2015 as soon as the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party elects a new leader.

### 2015

* February 21: The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party held its leadership election. As the sole candidate nominated, Wade MacLauchlan was acclaimed the new leader and incoming premier.
* February 23: Robert Ghiz resigns as Premier. Wade MacLauchlan is appointed and sworn in as the new Premier. Later that day, Ghiz, Wes Sheridan, and Robert Vessey resign as MLAs, triggering potential by-elections in their former seats (Charlottetown-Brighton, Kensington-Malpeque, and York-Oyster Bed, respectively).
* February 28: At the party's leadership election, Rob Lantz is elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island.
* April 6: After being nominated as the Liberal candidate for York-Oyster Bed, Premier Wade MacLauchlan dropped the writ, calling for an election on May 4, 2015.
* April 10: The Island Party drops out of the campaign, due to not having enough candidates
* April 27: Party leaders' first televised debate, held in Summerside.
* April 30: A second televised debate was held for the party leaders, in Charlottetown.
* May 4: Election results - The Liberals win a third consecutive majority government, with a reduced number of 18 seats. The Progressive Conservatives remain as the official opposition, with an increase to 8 seats. The Greens make Prince Edward Island political history, winning their first seat.

## Opinion polls

| Polling Firm | Last date of polling | Link | Liberal | PC | Green | NDP | Island | Other |
| Corporate Research Associates | April 23, 2015 | HTML | 44 | 35 | 6 | 15 | | |
| Abingdon Research | April 20, 2015 | PDF | 43 | 27 | 12 | 18 | | |
| Corporate Research Associates | February 28, 2015 | PDF | 58 | 26 | 4 | 12 | | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | November 25, 2014 | PDF | 50 | 23 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | September 1, 2014 | PDF | 48 | 28 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | May 22, 2014 | PDF | 53 | 23 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | February 27, 2014 | PDF | 53 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| Corporate Research Associates | November 27, 2013 | PDF | 49 | 17 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 1 |
| Corporate Research Associates | August 28, 2013 | PDF | 42 | 23 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | May 28, 2013 | PDF | 52 | 22 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| Corporate Research Associates | March 2, 2013 | PDF | 51 | 16 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | December 1, 2012 | PDF | 45 | 28 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | August 31, 2012 | PDF | 42 | 32 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | June 4, 2012 | PDF | 47 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| Corporate Research Associates | February 26, 2012 | PDF | 50 | 33 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Research Associates | November 29, 2011 | PDF | 53 | 34 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 election | October 3, 2011 | | 51.38 | 40.16 | 4.36 | 3.16 | 0.91 | 0.02 |

## Results

* Candidates' names appear as recorded by Elections PEI
* Party leaders' names are in bold; cabinet ministers' names are in italics.

### Cardigan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Green | Green | NDP | NDP | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| 4. Belfast-Murray River | | Charlie McGeoghegan 1,095 - 41.1% | | Darlene Compton 1,203 - 45.1% | | Jordan MacPhee 152 - 5.7% | | Alan Hicken 216 - 8.1% | Charlie McGeoghegan |
| 2. Georgetown-St. Peters | | Russ Stewart 1,170 - 38.8% | | Steven Myers 1,448 - 48.0% | | Heather Gallant 145 - 4.8% | | Nathan Bushey 256 - 8.5% | Steven Myers |
| 3. Montague-Kilmuir | | Allen Roach 1,060 - 41.8% | | Andrew Daggett 785 - 31.0% | | Jason Furness 106 - 4.2% | | Mike Redmond 585 - 23.1% | Allen Roach |
| 7. Morell-Mermaid | | Daniel MacDonald 1,114 - 37.1% | | Sidney MacEwen 1,501 - 50.0% | | Meaghan Lister 177 - 5.9% | | Edith Perry 211 - 7.0% | Olive Crane† |
| 1. Souris-Elmira | | Tommy Kickham 951 - 35.8% | | Colin LaVie 1,179 - 44.4% | | | | Susan Birt 528 - 19.9% | Colin LaVie |
| 6. Stratford-Kinlock | | David Dunphy 1,453 - 33.9% | | James Aylward 2,155 - 50.3% | | Samantha Saunders 330 - 7.7% | | Chris van Ouwerkerk 350 - 8.2% | James Aylward |
| 5. Vernon River-Stratford* | | Alan McIsaac* 1,173 - 41.3% | | Mary Ellen McInnis* 1,173 - 41.3% | | Nicholas Graveline 234 - 8.2% | | Kathleen Romans 258 - 9.1% | Alan McIsaac |
* This riding vote count resulted in a tie between McIsaac and McInnis. As a result, a coin toss was held, which determined McIsaac, the Liberal candidate, as the winner.

### Malpeque

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Green | Green | NDP | NDP | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| 19. Borden-Kinkora | | Ramona Roberts 1,154 - 34.1% | | Jamie Fox 1,597 - 47.1% | | Ranald MacFarlane 511 - 15.1% | | Aleida Tweten 126 - 3.7% | George Webster† |
| 16. Cornwall-Meadowbank | | Heath MacDonald 1,444 - 46.3% | | Michael Drake 1,056 - 33.8% | | Rosalyn Abbott 377 - 12.1% | | Jennifer Coughlin 243 - 7.8% | Ron MacKinley† |
| 17. Kellys Cross-Cumberland | | Valerie Docherty 1,046 - 27.6% | | Randy Robar 609 - 16.1% | | Peter Bevan-Baker 2,077 - 54.8% | | Jesse Cousins 58 - 1.5% | Valerie Docherty |
| 20. Kensington-Malpeque | | Paul Montgomery 1,033 - 28.3% | | Matthew MacKay 1,984 - 54.3% | | Lynne Lund 374 - 10.2% | | Joseph Larkin 264 - 7.2% | Vacant |
| 18. Rustico-Emerald | | Bertha Campbell 1,152 - 34.3% | | Brad Trivers 1,585 - 47.2% | | Marianne Janowicz 325 - 9.7% | | Leah-Jane Hayward 294 - 8.8% | Carolyn Bertram† |
| 9. York-Oyster Bed | | Wade MacLauchlan 1,938 - 47.7% | | Jim "Benson" Carragher 1,338 - 32.9% | | Thane Bernard 347 - 8.5% | | Gordon Gay 442 - 10.9% | Vacant |

### Charlottetown

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Green | Green | NDP | NDP | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| 13. Charlottetown-Brighton | | Jordan Brown 1,054 - 39.0% | | Rob Lantz 1,032 - 38.2% | | Derrick Biso 352 - 13.0% | | Bob MacLean 265 - 9.8% | Vacant |
| 14. Charlottetown-Lewis Point | | Kathleen Casey 1,040 - 34.3% | | Dianne Young 821 - 27.0% | | Doug Millington 244 - 8.0% | | Gord McNeilly 931 - 30.7% | Kathleen Casey |
| 11. Charlottetown-Parkdale | | Doug Currie 1,166 - 43.7% | | Lynn MacLaren 699 - 26.2% | | Becka Viau 511 - 19.2% | | Andrew Watts 292 - 10.9% | Doug Currie |
| 10. Charlottetown-Sherwood | | Robert Mitchell 1,425 - 45.8% | | Mike Gillis 1,031 - 33.1% | | Mitchell Gallant 295 - 9.5% | | Karalee McAskill 360 - 11.6% | Robert Mitchell |
| 12. Charlottetown-Victoria Park | | Richard Brown 955 - 39.4% | | Joey Kitson 666 - 27.5% | | Darcie Lanthier 456 - 18.8% | | Chris Clay 348 - 14.4% | Richard Brown |
| 8. Tracadie-Hillsborough Park | | Buck Watts 1,354 - 45.7% | | Darren Creamer 826 - 27.8% | | Isaac Williams 237 - 8.0% | | Jason Murray 549 - 18.5% | Buck Watts |
| 15. West Royalty-Springvale | | Bush Dumville 1,389 - 37.6% | | Linda Clements 1,330 - 36.0% | | Charles Sanderson 462 - 12.5% | | Peter Meggs 516 - 14.0% | Bush Dumville |

### Egmont

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Green | Green | NDP | NDP | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| 26. Alberton-Roseville | | Pat Murphy 1,569 - 53.7% | | John Griffin 1,166 - 39.9% | | | | Orville Lewis 188 - 6.4% | Pat Murphy |
| 24. Evangeline-Miscouche | | Sonny Gallant 1,419 - 62.6% | | Debbie Montgomery 586 - 25.8% | | Jordan Cameron 125 - 5.5% | | Grant Gallant 138 - 6.1% | Sonny Gallant |
| 25. O'Leary-Inverness | | Robert Henderson 1,310 - 48.8% | | Daniel MacDonald 1,063 - 39.6% | | | | Billy Mackendrick 311 - 11.6% | Robert Henderson |
| 22. Summerside-St. Eleanors | | Tina Mundy 1,246 - 41.2% | | Major Stewart 1,098 - 36.3% | | Caleb Adams 321 - 10.6% | | Olivia Wood 358 - 11.8% | Gerard Greenan† |
| 21. Summerside-Wilmot | | Janice Sherry 1,135 - 39.4% | | Brian Ramsay 1,105 - 38.4% | | Donald MacFadzen-Reid 285 - 9.9% | | Scott Gaudet 353 - 12.3% | Janice Sherry |
| 27. Tignish-Palmer Road | | Hal Perry 1,486 - 58.2% | | Joseph Profit 818 - 32.1% | | Malcolm Pitre 167 - 6.5% | | John A'Hearn 81 - 3.2% | Hal Perry |
| 23. Tyne Valley-Linkletter | | Paula Biggar 1,147 - 43.0% | | Ryan Williams 810 - 30.3% | | Shelagh Young 240 - 9.0% | | Jacqueline Tuplin 473 - 17.7% | Paula Biggar |