4 main P.E.I. political parties all running candidates in Borden-Kinkora byelection

A provincial byelection in Borden-Kinkora has drawn candidates from all four of P.E.I.'s main political parties.  

Residents of District 19 will vote for a new MLA to represent them in the P.E.I. legislature on Feb. 5. 

The governing Progressive Conservatives set the date after choosing Carmen Reeves as their candidate during a nomination meeting Tuesday night at Amherst Cove Consolidated School in Borden-Carleton.

The need for a byelection was triggered after the district's former MLA, Jamie Fox, resigned his seat so he could run for the federal Conservatives in the Malpeque riding.

No federal election has been called yet, but it must be held before Oct. 20, 2025.

In addition to Reeves, other candidates in the byelection include Matt MacFarlane for the Greens, Karen Morton for NDP and Gordon Sobey for the Liberals. 

King had said he wanted a new MLA elected in District 19 before the spring sitting of the legislative assembly, which is currently due to start Feb. 27. 

Fox won the past three elections in Borden-Kinkora going back to 2015. In last spring's provincial election, he won with 60 per cent of the vote. 

P.E.I. Greens could argue for opposition status

The Greens came second in the district in the last two provincial elections and MacFarlane was the party's candidate both times. 

With a win in District 19, the Green Party would have three seats in the legislature — putting them in a tie with the Liberals. That, combined with a higher total vote count in last year's general election, would give the party a reason to argue for opposition status.

"The health-care issue continues to prevail and dominate the discourse at the doors," said MacFarlane on Wednesday. "A little different than a year ago, I'm also hearing people struggling more and more with the cost of living."

NDP chasing elusive legislature seat

It's been almost a quarter-century since the NDP has held a seat in the legislature. Morton is hoping to change that with a win in District 19. 

"The critical issues are figuring out all of the different aspects of health care, so that we can get accessible health care, timely health care to everybody in the province," she said. "Currently, if I want to get a walk-in clinic, I have to try day after day and I drive up to Charlottetown to get one."

Status quo with a PC win

A win for Reeves on Feb. 5 won't change anything in the legislature as the PCs would maintain their current 22-seat total. 

"I want to make sure the district is heard [and] I want to bring that back to the team that's running the Island right now, the PC team," he said. "Folks are talking about health care and housing and jobs."

Adding to the Opposition

The Liberals will look to strengthen their Opposition status and bring their seat total to four if Sobey is elected next month. 

"You look at the amount of dollars that the King government has brought in and yet they're running a deficit, they're obviously mismanaging the books in every which way it seems, with a crisis in health care and affordability. You can go on and on and on and they're not addressing it," said Sobey. 

Voter information

The candidates have until Jan. 19 to register officially with Elections P.E.I. 

Advance polls will be held on Jan. 27, 29 and Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The polls are open in Borden-Kinkora during the same hours on byelection day. 

Voters can find their polling station or register for a mail-in ballot on Elections P.E.I.'s website.