The premier of Prince Edward Island is the

first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

for the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. They are the province's

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

and ''de facto'' chief executive.

was a British

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

before it joined

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

in 1873. It has had a system of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

since 1851, and the province kept its own legislature to deal with provincial matters after joining Confederation. Prince Edward Island has a unicameral Westminster-style

parliamentary government A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The premier is Prince Edward Island's

, and the

king of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

is its

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

and is represented by the

lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the viceregal representative in Prince Edward Island of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as th ...

. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island, and presides over that body. Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every five years from the date of the last election, but the premier may ask for early dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. An election may also take place if the governing party loses the confidence of the legislature by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion. Prince Edward Island has had 45 government leaders since it became a colony in 1851. The province had 7 premiers while a colony and 33 premiers after joining Confederation, of which 16 were from the

Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island is one of three major political parties on Prince Edward Island. The party and its rival, the Liberals, have alternated in power since responsible government was granted in 1851. Histor ...

and 23 were from the

Prince Edward Island Liberal Party The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party (officially the ''Prince Edward Island Liberal Association'') is a political party in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. The PEI Liberals are affiliated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada. H ...

. The current premier is

Dennis King Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer. Early years Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...

, since May 9, 2019. King was the first premier of a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

in PEI since

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship '' ...

. King's party gained seats in two by-elections in 2020 and 2021, giving him a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats ...

List of premiers of Prince Edward Island

References

;General * * ;Specific

External links

Prince Edward Island: Premier's Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Premiers Of Prince Edward Island

* Premiers Premiers

List of premiers of Prince Edward Island

See also

References

External links