CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Zack Bell of the Progressive Conservatives will be taking a seat inside the rail of the Coles Building in November as P.E.I.'s newest member of the legislative assembly.
Bell, a former radio host with Hot 105.5, won decisively in the Charlottetown-Winsloe byelection on Monday night, capturing 49.1 per cent of the vote.
Green candidate Chris van Ouwerkerk drew 27.4 per cent of the vote, while Liberal candidate Zac Muphy drew 22.3 per cent. The NDP's Lynne Thiele garnered 1.3 per cent of the vote.
The turnout in Monday's byelection was 67 per cent of eligible voters.
In a speech, Bell thanked his family, members of his campaign team, and Premier Dennis King.
"I am so excited to join your team and bring a strong voice for District 10, Charlottetown-Winsloe residents," Bell said. "I'm excited to continue to help Islanders during these unprecedented times and I will do that with the residents of District 10 in mind."
The win for Bell has inched the Progressive Conservatives into majority government status, albeit by a single vote.
The PC's now hold 14 of 27 seats in the legislature, although one seat is occupied by Speaker Colin LaVie. A speaker generally acts as a neutral party, but will cast a vote in case of a tie.
Since becoming a minority government after the 2019 election, Premier King has frequently spoken positively of working with the Opposition Greens, who hold eight seats, and with the Liberals, who now hold five.
On Monday night, King said the slim majority status of his party would change little in how he governs.
"For me, it's business as usual," King said in an interview. "What we have done all along, and what we will continue to do, is work with other parties. If they have questions about legislation or motions or budgetary decisions, we go back and we work with them."
King also suggested that votes from LaVie would not necessarily be in government's favour in cases of a tie.
"We can't be relying on that as a sure vote in the box for us on a contentious issue," he said of a scenario involving a vote by the speaker.
Monday's byelection was triggered after the sudden resignation of former Liberal MLA Robert Mitchell. Mitchell was known as a politician dedicated to constituency-level issues.
In an interview, Bell said mental health and addictions and education were the two most prominent issues raised by residents of Charlottetown-Winsloe.
When asked if he was willing to hold his own government to account on issues that are of priority to residents of Charlottetown-Winsloe, Bell said he would if necessary.
"It is the residents of Charlottetown-Winsloe that have put their support behind me. Depending on what the issue is, I have to stick up for the residents," Bell said. "I go back to what the residents have said. Mental health and addictions, that's something that I think the government has done a great job, but I think more needs to be done."
The PC's have been polling above the opposition Green and Liberal parties by a healthy margin since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The low count of cases of the COVID-19 virus, as well as the lack of community spread or hospitalizations, has no doubt raised the popularity of both King and his governing party.
When asked whether King would consider Bell, whom he has known for 30 years, for a cabinet position, King did not dismiss the possibility.
"As a premier you hold that chance to take a look at things, of how things are operating. We're about 18 months in and that's a time when you might take a deeper look at how people are performing," King said. "As a premier, you never answer that question with a yes-no answer. Stay tuned is always the best answer."
