# Politics of Prince Edward Island

The politics of Prince Edward Island are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces. The capital of the province of Prince Edward Island is Charlottetown, where the lieutenant governor and the premier reside, and where the provincial legislature and cabinet are located.

## Legislature

Prince Edward Island's government is based on the Westminster model, with a unicameral legislature – the General Assembly – consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Assembly with 27 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), elected from 27 roughly equal electoral districts using plurality voting. The legislature may sit for a maximum of five years, as is customary in the Westminster system, and may be dissolved at any time by the lieutenant-governor, normally on the advice of the premier. By custom, the provincial Cabinet (which currently has ten members) is drawn exclusively from the Legislative Assembly, and must secure the support of a majority of the Assembly's members.

## Political history

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name. The island is part of Mi'kma'ki, the lands of the Mi'kmaq people. Explored by Europeans in the 16th century, the French claimed all of the lands of the Maritimes in 1604 and French colonists arrived in 1720. By conquest, the British claimed all of the lands including Prince Edward Island in 1763. It became the British colony of St. John Island in 1769 and joined the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1873.

### Electoral history
#### The two-party era (1873–1996)

| Election date | Election date | Win. | Total seats | Conservative/Progressive Conservative | Conservative/Progressive Conservative | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Other | Other | Other |
| Election date | Election date | Win. | Total seats | Seats | Vote (%) | Seats | Vote (%) | Seats | Vote (%) | Seats | Vote (%) | Seats | Vote (%) | Seat-winning party |
| 1873 | April 1, 1873 | CON | 30 | 15 | | 10 | | | | | | 5 | | Non-partisan |
| 1876 | August 10, 1876 | CON | 30 | 15 | | 7 | | | | | | 8 | | Non-partisan |
| 1879 | April 2, 1879 | CON | 30 | 24 | | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| 1882 | May 8, 1882 | CON | 30 | 21 | | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| 1886 | June 30, 1886 | CON | 30 | 18 | | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| 1890 | January 30, 1890 | CON | 30 | 15 | | 15 | | | | | | | | |
| 1893 | December 13, 1893 | LIB | 30 | 7 | | 23 | | | | | | | | |
| 1897 | July 28, 1897 | LIB | 30 | 11 | | 19 | | | | | | | | |
| 1900 | December 12, 1900 | LIB | 30 | 9 | 46.5 | 21 | 53.5 | | | | | | | |
| 1904 | December 7, 1904 | LIB | 30 | 8 | 45.9 | 22 | 54.1 | | | | | | | |
| 1908 | November 18, 1908 | LIB | 30 | 13 | 48.4 | 17 | 51.6 | | | | | | | |
| 1912 | January 3, 1912 | CON | 30 | 28 | 60.3 | 2 | 39.7 | | | | | | | |
| 1915 | September 16, 1915 | CON | 30 | 17 | 50.1 | 13 | 49.9 | | | | | | | |
| 1919 | July 24, 1919 | LIB | 30 | 6 | 46.1 | 24 | 53.9 | | | | | | | |
| 1923 | July 26, 1923 | CON | 30 | 25 | 51.5 | 5 | 43.8 | | | | | | 4.7 | |
| 1927 | June 25, 1927 | LIB | 30 | 6 | 46.9 | 24 | 53.1 | | | | | | | |
| 1931 | August 6, 1931 | CON | 30 | 18 | 51.7 | 12 | 48.3 | | | | | | | |
| 1935 | July 23, 1935 | LIB | 30 | – | 42.0 | 30 | 58.0 | | | | | | | |
| 1939 | May 18, 1939 | LIB | 30 | 4 | 47.0 | 26 | 53.0 | | | | | | | |
| 1943 | September 15, 1943 | LIB | 30 | 10 | 46.1 | 20 | 51.3 | | 2.1 | | | | 0.5 | |
| 1947 | December 11, 1947 | LIB | 30 | 6 | 45.8 | 24 | 49.8 | | 4.3 | | | | 0.1 | |
| 1951 | April 26, 1951 | LIB | 30 | 6 | 46.7 | 24 | 51.6 | | 1.7 | | | | | |
| 1955 | May 25, 1955 | LIB | 30 | 3 | 45.0 | 27 | 55.0 | | | | | | | |
| 1959 | September 1, 1959 | PC | 30 | 22 | 50.9 | 8 | 49.1 | | | | | | | |
| 1962 | December 10, 1962 | PC | 30 | 19 | 50.6 | 11 | 49.4 | | | | | | | |
| 1966 | May 30, 1966 | LIB | 32 | 15 | 49.5 | 17 | 50.5 | | | | | | | |
| 1970 | May 11, 1970 | LIB | 32 | 5 | 41.7 | 27 | 58.3 | | | | | | | |
| 1974 | April 29, 1974 | LIB | 32 | 6 | 40.2 | 26 | 53.9 | | 5.9 | | | | | |
| 1978 | April 24, 1978 | LIB | 32 | 15 | 48.2 | 17 | 50.7 | | 1.1 | | | | | |
| 1979 | April 23, 1979 | PC | 32 | 21 | 53.2 | 11 | 45.3 | | 1.3 | | | | 0.2 | |
| 1982 | September 27, 1982 | PC | 32 | 21 | 53.6 | 11 | 45.7 | | 0.7 | | | | | |
| 1986 | April 21, 1986 | LIB | 32 | 11 | 45.6 | 21 | 50.4 | | 4.0 | | | | | |
| 1989 | May 29, 1989 | LIB | 32 | 2 | 35.8 | 30 | 60.7 | | 3.5 | | | | | |
| 1993 | March 29, 1993 | LIB | 32 | 1 | 39.5 | 31 | 55.1 | | 5.4 | | | | | |

#### The Post-Two party era (1996–present)

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (1996–2023) - seats won by party :
| Government | PC | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC |
| Party | 1996 | 2000 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | 2023 |
| Progressive Conservative | 18 | 26 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 22 |
| Liberal | 8 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 6 | 3 |
| Green | | | | | | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| New Democratic | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Total | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |