PEI has shed the two-party system and elected a Progressive Conservative minority government led by rookie leader Dennis King, with the Green Party serving as the official Opposition for the very first time.
After nearly four terms of Liberal leadership, and after 12 years serving as the Official Opposition, the PC’s won by a small margin, taking 12 districts while the Greens took eight and the Liberals won six.
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14 were needed in order to form a majority government.
“Welcome to a new era in Island politics,” King said in a speech Tuesday night to supporters at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel.
The Tory victory comes after a number of Conservative leaders have taken hold in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and New Brunswick.
The Green Party of PEI led by Peter Bevan-Baker had been hoping for a win, and were even leading the polls and projected to win days before the election in what was expected to be an uncertain and tight race.
“Today is about hope, the hope that we can create a better future for our children and our grandchildren,” Bevan-Baker said as he addressed the crowd.
Along with electing their new leader, voters in PEI also voted not to change their system from first-past-the-post to MMP in the referendum on electoral reform.