| Island Party of Prince Edward Island | |
| Colorcode: |
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| Leader: | Vacant |
| President: | Vacant |
| Ideology: | Environmentalism Direct Democracy Green conservatism |
| Position: | Centre-right |
| Foundation: | 2007; officially on |
| Headquarters: | Montague, Prince Edward Island |
| Website: | https://www.islandparty.ca/ |
| Country: | Canada |
| State: | Prince Edward Island |
| Parties Dab1: | List of political parties in Prince Edward Island |
The Island Party of Prince Edward Island, also known as the Island Party of PEI, or shortly, the Island Party, is a Canadian political party active in Prince Edward Island.[1]
The Island Party of Prince Edward Island formed after the 2007 election.[2] The party officially registered on March 5, 2010,[3] and the first leader of the party was Jay Gallant, who served in an interim role.[4]
In March 2011, former Liberal candidate Billy Cann was acclaimed as the leader of the party.[5] The party fielded 12 candidates in the 2011 election under Cann.[6]
On August 9, 2012, Cann announced that he was leaving the party to join the NDP.[7]
On March 1, 2015, Paul Smitz was named the interim leader of the party.[8] However, the party was deregistered later that year, when it failed to nominate the required 10 candidates for the 2015 election and did not file an information return.[9]
The party re-registered on September 9, 2022.[10] Party president, Paul Smitz, cited Liberal and PC governments' failure to rescind the controversial Municipal Government Act as a significant reason for the party re-forming. In addition to serving as president, Smitz was also the acting leader of the relaunched party.[11]
On March 10, 2023, Cecile Sly (Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás) was appointed as the party leader.[12] [13]
The party nominated 11 candidates for the 2023 election under leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás, electing none and receiving around 1% of the popular vote.[14]
Party leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás said they were proud of their diverse candidates which were distributed across the province, though she was disappointed that they weren't invited to any leaders’ debates.[15]
Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás was removed as party leader on February 11, 2024, by a non-confidence vote from the membership.[16]
Political scientist of University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Don Desserud, described the party's platform as "right-leaning" with "some progressive social policy," and compared the party to the United Farmers movement.[10]
Members of the party participated in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 public health mandates.
See main article: Regionalism (politics). The Island Party sees regionalization as an attempt to unload some of the tax burden for major infrastructure on rural Islanders.[17]
Noticeably, the Island Party wants to review the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which the group considers it to be contentious, in order to ensure democracy is respected. Furthermore, to make sure that local residents have a say in how money is spent within municipalities, the Island Party proposed a vote on yearly budgets in every city in PEI. They believe that by doing so, the Minister's powers will be reduced and the government will no longer be able to create or restructure municipalities without approval from residents.
The Island Party also believes that regional cooperation should be promoted through the creation of economic development zones. Representatives from community councils and industry sectors within these zones could be elected to serve on a regional board while preserving and strengthening the Islanders' communities.
Besides Regionalization, as per the party's website, the party's plank is as follows:
Preserving natural water across the island and ensuring safe drinking water to all Islanders.
Introducing Recall elections, Referendums, and Citizen initiative.
Enforcing the Lands Protection Act and closing loopholes, and protecting natural wildlife and soils.
| Election | Leader | Candidates | Seats | Votes | % | Place | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Billy Cann | 682 | 0.91% | 5th | ||||
| 2023 | Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás | 411 | 0.55% | 5th |