| Election Name: | 1979 Prince Edward Island general election |
| Country: | Prince Edward Island |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Colour: | no |
| Party Name: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1978 Prince Edward Island general election |
| Previous Year: | 1978 |
| Next Election: | 1982 Prince Edward Island general election |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Seats For Election: | All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island |
| Majority Seats: | 17 |
| Leader1: | Angus MacLean |
| Leader Since1: | September 25, 1976 |
| Leaders Seat1: | 4th Queens |
| Last Election1: | 15 seats, 48.1% |
| Seats1: | 21 |
| Seat Change1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 68,440 |
| Percentage1: | 53.3% |
| Swing1: | 5.2pp |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Premier | |
| Before Election: | Bennett Campbell |
| Posttitle: | Premier after election |
| After Election: | Angus MacLean |
| Previous Mps: | 54th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island |
| Elected Mps: | members |
| Next Mps: | 56th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island |
| Leader2: | Bennett Campbell |
| Leader Since2: | December 9, 1978 |
| Leaders Seat2: | 3rd Kings |
| Last Election2: | 17 seats, 50.7% |
| Seats2: | 11 |
| Seat Change2: | 6 |
| Popular Vote2: | 58,175 |
| Percentage2: | 45.3% |
| Swing2: | 5.4pp |
The 1979 Prince Edward Island general election was held on April 23, 1979.[1]
The election was held just one year after the 1978 election, which featured a 17–15 split in MLAs in the legislature. Following the resignation of former premier Alex Campbell from his seat, the legislature was in a 15–15 tie in voting members (the Liberal Speaker, Russell Perry, could not cast active votes in his role), the new Premier Bennett Campbell decided to call an election in an effort to regain his lost majority. The gambit failed, and instead the Progressive Conservatives led by Angus MacLean formed a strong majority government.
The campaign was the first to feature a female party leader running in PEI, with Doreen Sark serving as interim leader of the NDP.[2] The campaign was also the only one in which the "Draft Beer Party of PEI" ran, with one candidate in 5th Queens.
| 21 | 11 | |
| PC | Liberal |
The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.
In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district. Before 1963, Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district, but afterward they were elected in the same manner as Assemblymen.[3]