The Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I. has its candidate for Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park.
Close to 60 people turned out for the nomination of Sarah Stewart-Clark at the Malcolm J. Darrach Community Centre earlier this month. Stewart-Clark was unopposed in her nomination. She is now the seventh candidate nominated to run for the PCs in P.E.I.’s next election.
Stewart-Clark is an associate professor at the faculty of agriculture at Dalhousie University. She has been best known as an advocate for low-income residents of P.E.I. and for individuals dealing with mental health issues. She founded the group, Island Mothers Helping Mothers, a support group that advocates for improved access to mental health, addictions and crisis services on P.E.I.
She also started a campaign, #howmanywade, focused on stories of families who believed their mental-health needs have not been met by the health-care system.
"In every policy, in every government program, I don't look for the outcomes of the top 10 per cent. My focus is on the bottom 20 per cent," Stewart-Clark said.
"What has frustrated me the most about this Liberal government is that I have been sharing this same information for years about how I see families falling through the cracks in our social systems and in our health-care system."
"Things are not changing and our government is not learning to do better," she said.
Stewart-Clark said she decided to run as a candidate with the PCs because she believed in the work of leader James Aylward.
Aylward said he had developed a relationship of trust with Stewart-Clark and was happy to see her step forward as a candidate.
"Her passion, concern and empathy for the well-being of Islanders was very evident,” Aylward said.
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