Low support for Greens and NDP on P.E.I. came as no surprise to local candidates

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 12:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

It came arsenic small astonishment to 2 national candidates connected Prince Edward Island that the Green Party and NDP received specified debased enactment successful Monday's national election.

All 4 of the Island's ridings remained Liberal reddish connected predetermination night, with the party's stock of the fashionable ballot topping 57.8 per cent. The Conservatives besides made gains to gain 37.4 per cent of the vote, portion enactment for smaller parties similar the Greens and NDP shrank.

• LATEST COVERAGE of afloat national predetermination results

On P.E.I., the NDP had garnered astir 2.5 per cent of the full ballot by Tuesday midday, with immoderate canvass results inactive to come, and the Greens had astir 2.2 per cent.

In the 2021 national election, the New Democrats earned 9.2 per cent of the fashionable ballot connected P.E.I., and the Greens placed adjacent higher with 9.5 per cent. 

Anna Keenan, who ran for the Greens successful Malpeque, finished 3rd successful the cardinal P.E.I. riding with 1,020 votes. She trailed Liberal incumbent Heath MacDonald, who received 14,864 votes, and Conservative campaigner Jamie Fox, who earned 9,639 votes.

"I deliberation we could spot this coming from the precise commencement of the predetermination campaign. It was a precise beardown strategical voting election," Keenan told CBC's Island Morning.

"I had hundreds of radical archer me… 'I deliberation you're the champion campaigner to correspond the riding, but I'm not voting for you, and the crushed is due to the fact that I'm terrified of what a blimpish Pierre Poilievre-led authorities would mean for Canada.' And the votes from [the Greens and NDP] each flowed very, precise straight to the Liberals."

Joe Byrne, who ran for the NDP successful Charlottetown, described a akin experience. He said voters were motivated by fearfulness and uncertainty — not conscionable of Poilievre, but besides of U.S. President Donald Trump's commercialized warfare and threats to annex Canada arsenic the 51st American state.

"These are polarizing times successful a state that has been experiencing expanding polarization," Byrne said. 

"I had the aforesaid acquisition arsenic Anna, radical telling me, 'You did great, I privation to ballot for you, but I person to ballot against Poilievre.'"

NDP, Greens facing large losses

Late Monday night, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced helium would beryllium stepping down from the national party's apical job.

Singh not lone finished 3rd successful his ain riding of Burnaby Central, but his enactment was connected way to suffer much than two-thirds of its seats. The New Democrats volition besides suffer authoritative enactment presumption successful the House of Commons, falling abbreviated of the 12-member minimum.

Byrne said he's already spoken to cardinal stakeholders wrong the party.

"The captious portion connected this is, you know, we person to support working," helium said.

The Green Party faced its ain setbacks. While co-leader Elizabeth May held onto her spot successful British Columbia, earning her 5th term, the party's different co-leader, Jonathan Pedneault, placed 3rd successful his Outremont riding successful Quebec.

Earlier this month, the Greens were dropped from the leaders' debates for failing to conscionable information requirements.

"It was an mistake for him to take that peculiar riding," Keenan said of Pedneault. "I deliberation his exclusion from the leaders' statement was highly unfortunate for our party, but besides unfortunate for Canada, to beryllium missing that beardown dependable for the situation and for enactment connected clime change

She besides raised concerns astir Liberal Leader Mark Carney's remarks suggesting renewed openness to pipelines.

"I truly anticipation that determination is idiosyncratic who's going to clasp him to account. And I'm truly gladsome that Elizabeth May was re-elected, due to the fact that she brings information and heavy cognition connected this issue."

Financing rules an issue

Keenan said she wanted to spot 3 things happen election night: to spot 3 Green MPs re-elected, to unafraid 10 per cent of the ballot successful Malpeque, and to person the enactment scope 2 per cent nationally — the thresholds needed for candidates to beryllium eligible for partial reimbursement of predetermination expenses.

None of those goals was achieved.

Keenan said Canadian rules astir predetermination concern enactment smaller parties astatine a disadvantage.

"It makes it precise hard for america to grow," she said.

Keenan said the solution to amended enactment insignificant parties is to determination to proportional practice — a strategy successful which seats successful Parliament bespeak the percent of the ballot each enactment receives nationwide, alternatively than a first-past-the-post approach.

"If we had proportional representation, we would person a diverseness of practice present connected the Island. People wouldn't person felt acrophobic to ballot and pressured to ballot strategically, and we would person much balance," she said.