Could The Green Party Come to Power in Prince Edward Island?

Could there be a political sea-change in Canada's smallest province?


Voters in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) are set to go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new provincial government. The Liberals have been in power for a dozen years, voters are tired and Justin Trudeau's troubles aren't helping things.


Normally when the Liberals are out of favor, P.E.I. turns to the Conservatives. But these aren't normal times. The Green Party, led by Peter Bevan-Baker, are leading the Tories by double digits in the polls and were leading at the time election was called late last month.


The one caveat here is that a quarter of voters are undecided. It wouldn't be a total shock if Islanders revert back to normal voting patterns and oust the Liberals in favor of the Tories. But even if that does happen, the Greens will certainly have more than member sitting in the provincial legislature.


The Green Party, which has been a force in European politics for decades, has grown in influence in Canada during the 2010s. It's federal leader, Elizabeth May, was elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 election and twice shared the debate stage with the Liberals, Tories and NDP in the 2015 election. In British Columbia's provincial election in 2017, the Greens led by Andrew Weaver helped end more than 15 years of Liberal rule by supporting the NDP led by John Horgan in a minority government. Last year, in neighboring New Brunswick, the Greens led by David Coon won three seats to the provincial legislature. But PEI could represent the party's biggest gains yet.


I suppose P.E.I. needs a shakeup from the back and forth between the Liberals and the Conservatives that has prevailed for more than 150 years and the time has come for fresh ideas. But the Greens have a strong anti-Israel streak and strongly support BDS. The issue very nearly prompted May's resignation in 2017. To be fair, I don't know if the P.E.I. branch has delved into the issue. But given the support for flaky ideas at a national level I'm inclined to think P.E.I. won't be immune from such flakiness. Of course, it's their election. They are free to elect the Greens. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way just as Albertans did when they rebuked the NDP earlier this week after electing them four years ago.


There's no doubt the 2019 election in P.E.I. is the most interesting in the province's history. Should they elect the Greens, they might wish for a less interesting election next time around.