The 2017 Charlottetown-Parkdale provincial by-election took place on November 27, 2017. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the district's incumbent MLA
Doug Currie on October 19.
Green Party candidate
Hannah Bell
Hannah Bell (born 9 August 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 13 December 2017 to 6 March 2023. She represents the electoral district of Charlottetown-Belvedere as a m ...
won the election, becoming the second member of the party to be elected to the
Legislative Assembly after
Peter Bevan-Baker
Peter Stewart Bevan-Baker (born 3 June 1962) is a Scottish-Canadian politician, currently the leader of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island representing New Haven-Rocky Point ( ...
successfully contested the district of
Kellys Cross-Cumberland
Kellys Cross-Cumberland was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was previously known as Crapaud-Hazel Grove. It was the first provincial constituency to elect a member of the Green Pa ...
in the
2015 general election.
Background
District profile
Charlottetown-Parkdale
Charlottetown-Parkdale was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was created prior to the 2007 election from parts of Sherwood-Hillsborough, Parkdale-Belvedere and Charlottetown-Kings S ...
was established ahead of the
2007 provincial election. The Charlottetown district covered the entirety of the neighbourhoods of Belvedere and St. Avard's as well as most of Parkdale.
The district had voted reliably
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
since its inception, sending
Doug Currie to the
Legislative Assembly in the
2007 election and re-electing him in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
.
Resignation of Doug Currie
On October 17, 2017, incumbent MLA
Doug Currie announced his resignation from the
Legislative Assembly effective immediately. In an interview with
CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
, Currie stated "My decision really is about what's in the best for Doug Currie and my two girls — I don't think there's any perfect time to leave public office, but I feel excited about leaving. I feel excited about what I've accomplished." Currie was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the
2007 election and had served in various ministerial roles under three successive
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
governments. At the time of his resignation, Currie was Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture.
Candidates
Bob Dorion won the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
nomination, defeating challenger Marcia Carroll at the party's nomination meeting on October 30. Dorion has been a member of the
University of Prince Edward Island
The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.''
H ...
Security Police Department since 1987 and has represented the ward of Mount Edward on the
Charlottetown City Council
The Charlottetown City Council is the governing body for the city of Charlottetown, the county seat of Queen's County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The most recent civic election took place in November 5, 2018. City council meets at Charlotteto ...
since 2014.
The
Progressive Conservatives nominated Melissa Hilton at a meeting on November 1. Hilton has represented the ward of Stonepark on the
Charlottetown City Council
The Charlottetown City Council is the governing body for the city of Charlottetown, the county seat of Queen's County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The most recent civic election took place in November 5, 2018. City council meets at Charlotteto ...
since 2005.
Hannah Bell
Hannah Bell (born 9 August 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 13 December 2017 to 6 March 2023. She represents the electoral district of Charlottetown-Belvedere as a m ...
won the
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
nomination against
Karla Bernard
Karla Bernard is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in the 2019 Prince Edward Island general election.New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
nominated their leader
Michael Redmond. Redmond had been leader of the NDP PEI since
October 2012.
Campaign
Candidates Hannah Bell and Michael Redmond caused controversy when they campaigned on November 11,
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
in Canada. While all four candidates attended ceremonies that day, Bob Dorion and Melissa Hilton chose not to campaign. Bell defended her decision to campaign, stating "The reason veterans fought for us was to secure our democracy."
Results
Reactions and aftermath
In an email statement,
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics.
The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It el ...
leader
Elizabeth May
Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. Sh ...
said the outcome of the by-election showed that "voters are increasingly looking to Greens when it comes to strengthening democracy, fighting for those less fortunate, and leading the way to a sustainable future."
Andrew Weaver, leader of the
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia, often simply called the BC Greens, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1983 and is based in Victoria. The party won its first seat in the Legislative Assembly of Br ...
, released a statement congratulating Hannah Bell and characterizing her victory as a "tidal shift."
Speaking to reporters on election night,
Progressive Conservative leader
James Aylward stated "Clearly, the MacLauchlan government...has been sent a message. Was it the message that I was necessarily hoping for tonight? Certainly not, but clearly they've been sent a message."
Liberal Premier
Wade MacLauchlan
H. Wade MacLauchlan CM OPEI (born 10 December 1954), is a Canadian legal academic, university administrator, politician and community leader. He served as the fifth president of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1999 to 2011, becomin ...
did not view the result as significant, saying "I think you really have to look at a by-election as a by-election, with local context and what people have to take into account as they're making their choices. And of course the turnout. That's the nature of by-elections."
Following his fourth-place finish, NDP leader Michael Redmond announced on December 5 that he would meet with the party's executive within the week to determine the future of his leadership. The following day, Redmond announced his resignation as party leader.
References
{{Reflist
2017 elections in Canada
2017 in Prince Edward Island
Provincial by-elections in Prince Edward Island