Two byelections put parties to the test in P.E.I.

Two P.E.I. byelections may signal which parties are gaining momentum and which are slipping after the first few months the interim premier has held power.

Two byelections in P.E.I. ridings tested party strength on the Island.

According to unofficial results, Liberal Carolyn Simpson will represent the P.E.I. riding of District 9, Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park, and Progressive Conservative (PC) Kent Dollar will represent the riding of District 15 Brackley-Hunter River as MLAs.

It’s been a year of turning tides in P.E.I. politics, with leadership changes for all three of the parties represented in the legislature. The PC majority is safe, but political scientists say results could signal who’s building momentum, and who’s slipping.

“These byelections, there could be wake-up calls for all parties,” says University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) political science professor Don Desserud.

In District 9, Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park, the voting station was busy Tuesday morning. Some voters were hoping to flip the blue riding red.

“I wanted to put my vote in,” said Noelle Macdonald on her way out of the community centre. “We’re hoping for the Liberals!”

The PC’s Dennis Jameson was in the running to represent the capital. He benefited from name recognition: his wife, Natalie Jameson, held the seat before she left cabinet to run federally.

Challenging him was the Liberals’ Simpson, whose party is looking for someone to lead it.

“I voted for Carolyn today. I think that the wife went and voted for the Conservative, so we just knocked each other out,” said Lorne Cannon, laughing.

Also on the ballot were the NDP’s Simone Webster and the Greens’ Janine Karpakis. The Green Party of P.E.I. elected Mattew MacFarlane as leader in June, while the PC’s also have a new leader, Rob Lantz, who holds the role of premier on an interim basis.

“He stepped in at a very difficult time, and he’s taking it on,” said Nora Hughes.

“For what he has to work with, he’s doing a good job,” added William Bowerbank.

Lantz got the top job after former premier Dennis King stepped down earlier this year. Before his resignation, King represented District 15, Brackley-Hunter River, where voters also braved the heat wave to hit the polls.

Desserud said the race could send a message about how people feel about Lantz’s first few months.

“There’s been lots of talk about whether he would run, should run, could run for the permanent leadership,” he said. “A really strong finish for the PC candidates, that would be seen as a really strong endorsement of Lantz’s leadership.”

Desserud adds that byelections are hard to predict, especially this one, because there has been no public data on voting intentions since late last year.

Despite that, Elections PEI says there was high turnout in advance voting at just over 26 per cent.

According to the unofficial results Wednesday morning at 8:45 a.m. AT, voter turnout in District 9 was 47.8 per cent, with 2,045 out of 4,400 electors casting ballots, and nearly 56 per cent in District 15, with 2,274 votes cast,

“It certainly wasn’t the time of year,” said Ethan Garrett, Elections PEI returning officer. “Most people are at the beach, so we have to look for something else.”

That something else, he says, is a history of strong engagement and an interesting year.