The Conservatives won a minority government (at this rate, they are going to sweep every province in the country- Canada is really taking a swing to the Right with frightening speed and totality). But also notable is that for the first time a Green Party became the official opposition in a Canadian province.
More disturbingly, there was also a pause in voting due to a bomb threat against polling places:CBC News is projecting a PC minority government in P.E.I., after the party took an early lead in Tuesday's election.
CBC News is also projecting both PC Leader Dennis King and Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker will be elected in their districts. Liberal Leader Wade MacLauchlan lost a tight race in his district, and NDP Leader Joe Byrne finished fourth in his.
Polls taken during the campaign showed a Green lead with the PCs in second. But history suggested the Tories would be able to flip that storyline.
Since the 1960s, the province has tended to see the Liberals and PCs trade places after every three elections. But two factors have threatened to break this trend.
Since the 2015 election the Tories have had five leaders, following the failure of then-leader Rob Lantz to win a seat in the legislature. Current Leader Dennis King has only been on the job since February. There were questions about whether that was enough time to convince voters the party was ready to govern.
And then there was the emergence of the Green Party, which has led the polls for the last year on the strength Leader Peter Bevan-Baker's popularity.
But King immediately embarked on a series of consultations on the party's platform following his leadership win, meeting with voters across the Island.
He promised a more consultative approach to government, and demonstrated his intentions for a more collaborative approach during the CBC debate by occasionally applauding statements by the other leaders.
Tuesday's early results suggest that style resonated with a significant number of voters.
Polls in 25 of the 27 districts closed at 7 p.m. AT, and at 7:30 p.m. in Stratford–Keppoch, where polls were closed earlier this afternoon due to an unsubstantiated threat.
The election has been postponed in Charlottetown–Hillsborough following the death of Green candidate Josh Underhay and his son on Friday. However, voters in that district will still be able to cast a ballot in a referendum to decide if the province should move to a mixed member proportional representation voting system.
The election is being closely watched around the country. It marks the first three-way race in a province long held by two parties. The Green Party is hoping to make an unprecedented breakthrough — and with that comes the possibility the province could elect its first minority government.
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/voting-at-p ... -1.4391497
The polling place was reopened, and voting extended by a half-hour, but since the polling place was closed for two and a half hours, that hardly seems sufficient (especially when they falsely reported that it would be open to 9:00, which would have been much better). There can be little doubt that many people were denied their right to vote by this act of terrorism. Were I the losing candidate, and the race close, I would sue to challenge the legitimacy of the result in this riding.Voting at polling station in central Prince Edward Island was temporarily suspended Tuesday as police investigated a bomb threat as the provincial election drew to a close.
RCMP Sgt. Leanne Butler confirmed there was bomb threat, saying someone found a note inside the polling station at the Assumption Parish Centre in Stratford.
Police surrounded the large church on the outskirts of Charlottetown.
Police in Prince Edward Island responds to an unspecified threat that temporarily suspended voting at a polling station. (CTV News)
Elections PEI decided there was a risk to staff and the building was evacuated around 1 p.m. as would-be voters were trying to cast their ballots.
One of the candidates running in the riding, incumbent Progressive Conservative James Aylward, said he learned of the situation while driving by the station, where his wife was waiting to cast her vote.
"I drove into the parking lot of the church hall ... and all of a sudden six marked RCMP vehicles screamed in and blocked off the entrances," he said.
Around 3:30 p.m., Elections PEI issued a statement saying voting would resume at the centre. The agency also confirmed the polls there would remain open 7:30 local time -- 30 minutes later than usual.
Elections P.E.I. had originally said the polling station would remain open until 9 p.m., but they agency later changed the timing.
Voter turnout was expected to be strong in Tuesday's election, with more than 36 per cent of eligible voters having already cast their ballots in advance polls. Voter turnout on the island has traditionally been as high as 80 per cent.
Under rainy, grey skies, Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker and his wife voted this morning at the Bonshaw community centre in his riding in central P.E.I.
The Greens are hoping to turn strong support in opinion polls into victories and build on the two seats they held prior to the campaign.
The Liberals have governed the Island since 2007, including the last four years under Premier Wade MacLauchlan, who is hoping to continue efforts to bolster the province's economy.
Dennis King has only been leader of the Progressive Conservatives since February, but says he is focused on adding to the eight seats his party held.
Joe Byrne, who has led the New Democrats for the past year, is looking for his party's first win in more than 20 years.
The polls close at 7 p.m. local time.
