P.E.I. Liberal Leader Sharon Cameron stepping down after failing to win seat

P.E.I. Liberal Leader Sharon Cameron is stepping down as head of the party after failing to win a seat in the provincial election on Monday.

Cameron ran in District 17: New Haven-Rocky Point and placed third. Green Leader Bevan-Baker, the incumbent MLA, won the hotly contested seat by just 106 votes over the second-place candidate, Progressive Conservative Donalda Docherty.

"When a leader doesn't get a seat in the legislature, it's really hard to sit outside the rail and work with your caucus. So I think it's just time for the party to continue on — continue with the rebuild," Cameron told CBC News on Tuesday.

"They'll need to find a new leader … so I'm just going to step out of the way and let them do that."

In a short statement Thursday, the party said an interim leader will be selected "by caucus of members of the legislative assembly together with the party." 

It added: "We thank Sharon for her leadership and her important contribution to the PEI Liberal Party, and we look forward to working with her in the future."

Cameron held the post as the party's leader from November until now, roughly five months. She said she knew the party "was broken" when she started the job, becoming its first full-time leader since former premier Wade MacLauchlan resigned. The Liberals had been led on an interim basis by former MLAs Robert Mitchell and Sonny Gallant since 2019.

Cameron's resignation follows an election that saw the Liberals earning their worst popular vote share in P.E.I. history. The party went into the four-week campaign with four seats and held on to three, taking in just 12,876 votes — 17.2 per cent of the popular vote.

"I don't think we could have done anything differently," she said Tuesday.

"I was very vocal about the snap election, and said that that was done for political purposes only — and it worked. It worked in [the PCs'] favour. Had we had another six months … than some of the candidates who joined us would have had time to probably build their base."

When you're fighting for seniors who haven't had a doctor for eight years, or a mom who has to wait for 12 hours with a crying child in the emergency room because there's no other access to primary care, to hell with convention. We're going straight to battle.— Sharon Cameron, defending decision to run in District 17

Cameron's biggest point of pride is that the party claimed Official Opposition status after the Greens sank to two seats from eight. 

The coming months will be the first time there has been a Liberal Official Opposition since the years of the 2003-2007 Pat Binns PC government.

MLAs Hal Perry, Robert Henderson and Gord McNeilly won their districts in spite of what was a crushing performance from the PCs across the province. The PCs claimed 22 of P.E.I.'s 27 seats.

In her news release, Cameron called Monday's result "a testament to the positive impact" the three returning MLAs had in their districts. She thanked the Liberal executive, members and volunteers for positioning the party for the future.

'To hell with convention'

Cameron said she received a lot of criticism for running against Bevan-Baker in District 17, a race that pitted two provincial leaders against each other. 

It's an unspoken rule among parties that leaders don't do that, but Cameron has no time for such talk.

"That's not on the books anywhere. That's a convention probably put forward by the old boys' club to protect themselves from each other and stake their ground," she said.

"When you're fighting for seniors who haven't had a doctor for eight years, or a mom who has to wait for 12 hours with a crying child in the emergency room because there's no other access to primary care, to hell with convention. We're going straight to battle."

Sending a message in that specific challenge was always the goal for Cameron.

Despite her personal loss Monday, she said that message was delivered and the challenge will continue as a new interim leader marches the Liberals into the role of Official Opposition.

"We did a really good job in a really compressed period of time given all of the things that were on us," she said. "I think we should all feel very proud of that."

'I'm humbled by the experience'

Cameron said she's still going to remain involved in District 17 and with the Liberal Party, after saying as much on Monday evening after the votes were counted. In her concession speech, she told a room full of Liberals she was "going to be a pain in the ass" in some form to hold the PCs accountable in government.

"I've really been in this since 2021, actually," Cameron said, referring to running for the Liberal nomination before the District 16: Cornwall-Meadowbank byelection.

"So I've been at this for probably a couple years — and I like it. I like the people, I like the passion. Everybody sort of rallies around a common goal."

She also thanked the Islanders who voted for her party, and her family for supporting her during her time as leader.

"Thanks to my friends and family, who really haven't seen me, and my dogs, for a long time," she said. 

"I am so pleased that I had this privilege and honour. I'm humbled by the experience, and I wish all the best for all the candidates."