The Green Party of P.E.I. has postponed a nomination meeting to decide its candidates for seven ridings, which had been scheduled for tonight, due a feeling among members that the process was overly rushed.
Jordan Bober, a fundraising director for the Greens, said the nomination meeting was initially scheduled for Thursday due to speculation that an election might be called either in the summer or fall. However, he said the party’s provincial council heard from some members that the accelerated timeline was a barrier for candidates to enter the political arena.
A nomination meeting for the Liberal Party of P.E.I., which had been scheduled on Tuesday evening in the district of Souris-Elmira, was also cancelled due to a death in the community, according to a party representative.
"We've had a lot of interest. They've had dozens and dozens of people coming forward,” Bober said.
“For a lot of people, the killer was the combination of the speed at which the nomination process was turning over, combined with the high degree of uncertainty about when the election was going to take place."
The Green Party is almost dead-even with the governing Liberal Party in recent opinion polls. As of May, 33 per cent of Islanders said they would vote for the Green Party, while 34 per cent opted for the Liberal Party in a poll conducted by Corporate Research Associates. The PCs stood at 26 per cent of voters.
The nomination meeting was initially planned for Green candidates in the districts of Souris-Elmira, Georgetown-Pownal, Stratford-Keppoch, Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park, Charlottetown-Belvedere, Charlottetown-Victoria Park and Charlottetown-Brighton. Green MLA
Hannah Bell is seeking the nomination in Charlottetown Belvedere.
Bober said the uncertainty around when the election might be called created a particular barrier for women with children.
Women account for five out of 27, or 18 per cent, of members of the legislative assembly on P.E.I.
Bober also acknowledged that there may be some ridings that will face a contested nomination.
"There are a lot more people that are interested in running for the Green Party than have been able to put actual applications in," he said.
No date has been set for the new nomination meeting.
The Green Party held a nomination meeting for four candidates in Summerside earlier this month. Candidates were nominated in Borden-Kinkora, Summerside-Wilmot, Summerside-South Drive and Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke.
The cancelled Liberal nomination meeting in Souris-Elmira would have been the first nomination meeting held by the governing party.
The Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I. has so far nominated candidates in six of the Island’s 27 ridings. The next nomination meeting of the PCs is planned for July 11th for Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park.
