Win or lose, P.E.I. Green leadership hopefuls say there are good 'vibes' within party

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: May 03, 2025 5:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: 36 minutes ago

There was an aerial of optimism successful the country arsenic the 2 candidates for the enactment of P.E.I.'s Green Party discussed a scope of topics successful their last accidental to impressment voters Saturday. 

Hannah Bell and Matt MacFarlane were aligned connected galore of the topics that came up during a statement successful Charlottetown. 

The party's rank volition ballot connected which of them volition go the imperishable person during a normal connected June 7. 

"It reminded maine of our clip successful 2019 erstwhile we had precise akin energy," said Barb McDowall, a Green Party subordinate from Charlottetown. 

"Whoever becomes the person volition beryllium the close idiosyncratic … and I cognize that the 2 of them volition enactment very, precise good together." 

The Greens person been without a imperishable person since Peter Bevan-Baker stepped down aft the 2023 provincial wide election. 

That ballot saw the enactment tumble from Official Opposition status. Their 8 seats were chopped to 2 — Bevan-Baker and existent interim Leader Karla Bernard. 

The Greens person since added a 3rd spot successful the legislature aft MacFarlane won a February 2024 byelection successful Borden-Kinkora. That was triggered by the resignation of erstwhile Progressive Conservative MLA Jamie Fox, who stepped down to tally for the national Conservatives.

Focused connected growth

There was nary speech of tariffs oregon Trump connected Saturday. Instead, the 2 candidates discussed section issues similar wellness care, a basal income guarantee and proportional representation. 

This is the archetypal clip the P.E.I. Greens volition person a contested leadership, according to enactment officials. 

Bell is simply a erstwhile subordinate of the provincial Greens, winning a 2017 byelection for Charlottetown-Parkdale (now Charlottetown-Belvedere). Six years later, she announced she would not re-offer successful the 2023 election. 

Since then, she said galore radical person encouraged her to propulsion her chapeau backmost into the provincial authorities ring. 

"One of the worst things we tin bash is chopped disconnected our ain opportunities," Bell said. "I've had a mates of years retired of being successful the authorities space, and I had a batch of radical contacting maine and asking maine if I would see this [leadership race]." 

Bell added that she volition see putting her sanction successful arsenic a candidate in a byelection the Progressive Conservative authorities yet has to telephone successful Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park. That spot was near vacant erstwhile erstwhile PC furniture curate Natalie Jameson stepped down to tally successful the national predetermination for the Conservatives. 

That's 1 of 2 byelections connected the horizon. The different is successful Brackley-Hunter River, the spot near vacant erstwhile erstwhile premier Dennis King stepped speech successful February. 

Given the Greens' triumph successful the past byelection held connected the Island, galore successful the country Saturday — including MacFarlane — were feeling affirmative astir the enactment recapturing its momentum from six years ago. 

MacFarlane, a lawyer who lives successful Augustine Cove, announced his volition to tally for the party's enactment successful January.

"I deliberation the biggest contented close now… is conscionable increasing the enactment and however are we going to bash that if I'm the leader, if Hannah's the leader," MacFarlane said.  

"I'm feeling close present successful Prince Edward Island the aforesaid benignant of vigor and vibes arsenic I felt successful 2018, going into the 2019 wide election…. There seems to beryllium a existent beardown tendency for change."