2011 PEI Election Coverage
Tue, 10/04/2011 - 00:17
It was an emotional scene at Liberal headquarters in District 1 as the defeated Innovation Minster Allan Campbell faced the small crowd of 40 supporters after the final numbers came in on election night.
With a catch in his voice, he told the supporters they fought a good fight and they should be proud of all their hard work.
“Of course it’s disappointing, but democracy rules. I’ve respected people’s opinions and ideas from day one and I do so today. It’s their decision to make.”
The race was too close to call until the last poll was in as PC candidate Colin ...
Tue, 10/04/2011 - 00:13
PC Candidate Colin LaVie’s head was spinning as he entered the Souris Legion Monday evening on the shoulders of some of his strongest supporters.
After winning District 1, defeating Allan Campbell by a narrow margin of 30 votes he was ready to celebrate with a crowd of 150 gathered at the Legion.
He first dazzled the crowd with a rendition of ‘The Gambler’ and then got down to the business of thanking everyone who helped make the victory happen.
In an interview with The Graphic Mr LaVie said the win wasn’t a surprise.
“I knew it was going to be close, but I didn’t ...
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 23:47
Winning District 2 PC candidate Steven Myers said he was happy to see his hard work pay off as he celebrated with supporters at Kaylee Hall.
“Obviously it was a relief, but we worked really hard,” he said, noting he had the lead through much of the night.
However not all his supporters were as calm.
“It was the best counting I’ve ever sat in on,” Teresa Gardiner of Georgetown said. “It was Kevin, Steven, Kevin, Steven.”
“I’m really excited,” My Myers said. “I’m going to be right in the middle of the political process ... It’s going to be fun.”
He said while on ...
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 23:45
A victorious Olive Crane told reporters at her campaign headquarters in Mt Stewart her party’s campaign wasn’t dirty in response to comments from Liberal opponent Dan MacDonald.
When asked by The Graphic how a loss of five seats to the PCs reflected Islanders’ view of the Ghiz government, Mr MacDonald said, “I think negative campaigning works ... The Liberals took the high road from the beginning.”
This campaign was marked by bombshell allegations of bribery by senior government officials during the PNP program as well as attack ads and a “Seeing Red” booklet distributed by the PC party highlighting perceived Liberal failings.
When ...
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 21:11
Liberal candidates Allen Roach, District 3 Montague-Kilmuir; Charlie McGeoghegan, District 4, Belfast-Murray River; and Alan McIsaac, District 5, Vernon River-Stratford have all been elected.
Allen Roach takes the seat formerly held by retired MLA and past interim leader of the PC party, Jim Bagnall.
...
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 21:00
The Progressive Conservative Party of PEI candidates in the districts of Morell-Mermaid (Olive Crane), Georgetown-St Peters (Steven Myers) and Souris-Elmira (Colin LaVie) have been declared elected in the PEI provincial election.
Stratford-Kinlock candidate James Aylward has also been elected, taking the seat formerly held by Liberal Cynthia Dunsford.
...
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 19:47
CBC News predicts a majority government for Robert Ghiz 30 minutes after the polls close on PEI.
The Liberals were leading or elected in 18 districts and the PCs ahead in six at that time.
See full story at
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/peivotes2011/story/2011/10/03/peivotes-ele... ...
Island New Democrat officials are pleased at a recent poll is showing a possible surge in NDP support. They anticipate that momentum will carry them to even higher numbers in the Oct 3 election.
“We intend to ride this wave as far as we can,” said NDP Leader James Rodd. “And while we’ve often experienced problems with the reporting of polls by some of the local media, we know that many NDP voters – and potential voters – will be encouraged by this poll. It should lead to a greater turnout of NDP supporters on election day.”
Rodd was commenting on the ...
The Island Party candidate for Souris-Elmira said he has a solution to reopening the Souris emergency room while, at the same time, helping Island farmers.
Cuba is renowned for it’s health care system and they are always looking for agriculture products to supplement what they have.
By making a trade agreement with the Cuban government, we can bring doctors to Souris and ship potatoes to Cuba, said Jason MacGregor.
It would be very cost effective, said Mr. MacGregor who has studied other mutual assistance agreements Cuba has with other countries.
The main cost would be the transportation of the potatoes to Cuba. Because of ...
PC Leader Olive Crane is the only leader, so far, who has confirmed her plans to attend a forum on rural health care at Hernewood Intermediate School on Thursday, Sept 29 at 8 pm.
The meeting, organized with the help of the Concerned Citizens Committee for Community Hospital and with the participation of the Union of Public Sector Employees and other interest groups, will discuss health care issues and strategies in rural PEI, said Thelma Sweet, the Concerned Citizens Chair.
The meeting is open to residents from rural communities throughout PEI, as well as West Prince. ...
Mon, 09/26/2011 - 11:34
A dump truck bearing a strong message was spotted at the new Holland College, Alberton campus, on Saturday afternoon during the college’s open house.
Ben Bremner photo ...
Fri, 09/23/2011 - 17:50
Premier Robert Ghiz, flanked by West Prince and Summerside-area MLAs, made a stop at the West Point Lighthouse early Friday afternoon to announce five key priorities in his party’s tourism strategy.
But more importantly to area residents, one of those was a promise to preserve the West Point Lighthouse by providing funding to halt coastal erosion in front of the iconic structure that is a major tourist destination.
Protective dunes were swept away last December by crashing waves which flooded part of the lighthouse’s basement. Some sand was moved back and the spine of a dune began to appear in front of ...
“Health Care is a top priority for Liberals,” said Premier Robert Ghiz during a visit Friday, Sept 23 to the Tignish Health Centre Co-op, which had been seeking an annual operating grant.
Premier Ghiz reaffirmed his commitment to provide the centre with a $50,000 operating grant, among other commitments.
“Today, I want to tell you about the Liberal Party commitment to strengthening health care in West Prince,” said Premier Ghiz.
“Over the last four years we have stopped the closure of Western and Community Hospitals, built the $765,000 Family Health Centre in Tyne Valley, ...
Local Liberal candidates will be attending at least part of tonight’s (Friday’s) health care forum in O’Leary, slated for the same time as a province-wide Liberal rally at Hernewood Intermediate School, featuring Robert Ghiz.
According to Liberal officials, the rally has been scheduled for Hernewood since the election’s start.
Organizers have been notified that local candidates will attend the start of the forum and then leave for Hernewood at 7:55 pm, returning after the rally at approximately 9:15 pm.
“I’m going and as far as I know Pat Murphy (Roseville-Alberton MLA) is going,” said O’Leary-Inverness MLA Robert Henderson.
...
Eleven candidates are competing for four West Prince seats in the Oct 3 provincial election.
In District 23, Tyne Valley-Linkletter, incumbent Liberal Paula Bigger is facing off against PC candidate Jim Henwood.
In District 25, O’Leary-Inverness, incumbent Liberal Robert Henderson will face PC candidate Daniel MacDonald.
In District 26, Alberton-Roseville, incumbent Liberal Pat Murphy has three challengers. They are Island Party candidate Mitch Gallant, Green Party candidate Gerald O’Meara and PC candidate David Gordon.
In District 27 incumbent Liberal Neil LeClair faces two challengers, Island Party candidate Derek Peters and PC candidate Hal Perry. ...
