CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A Facebook post by former mayoral candidate Jamie Larkin has landed him in hot water with P.E.I.’s Green Party.
Larkin, who says he has been an active member of the party for several years, received an e-mail on Saturday from the party’s president, Jordan MacPhee, informing him that a recent post made in support of PC leadership candidate Sarah Stewart-Clark violated the party’s constitution. A bylaw in the Green Party constitution prohibits party members from “publicly promoting or endorsing another provincial party” unless the Green Party decides to publicly promote this party.
“I encourage you to join us and become a member and assist Dr. Sarah Stewart Clark in becoming the new leader of the PC Party of P.E.I. and future premier of P.E.I.,” Larkin posted on Facebook.
Larkin said he feels it was unfair that he has been singled out for this social media post. The post has since been taken down.
"One of the things that attracted me to the Greens is that it was open and inclusive and supported good people and good ideas," Larkin said.
"Now after one Facebook post, they have asked for my membership."
"One of the things that attracted me to the Greens is that it was open and inclusive and supported good people and good ideas. Now after one Facebook post, they have asked for my membership."
-Jamie Larkin
Larkin said he has been a member and donor to the Green Party since 2007 and has run with the party in past provincial elections.
Despite his role with the Green Party, Larkin said he also been involved with the PC Party at different times in the past, and even took a role in the 2017 PC leadership campaign in support of then-candidate Brad Trivers. He said he has become involved with the campaign of PC leadership candidate Sarah Stewart-Clark because he believed in her integrity.
According to Green Party spokesperson Jordan Bober, Larkin’s membership with the party is still active. He said the post from Larkin was flagged by the party’s provincial council on the grounds that it seemed to suggest that Stewart-Clark should be premier.
“It raises the questions of, if you’re now saying you’re on a team for somebody who is a PC candidate, does that mean that you have taken out a PC membership?”
In an interview, Larkin told The Guardian he has an active membership with the PC party.
Bober said the e-mail sent to Larkin was meant to simply inform him that that the post was in contravention of the party’s bylaws.
The bylaw was enacted at the party’s most recent annual general meeting, in January of 2018, two months after the last PC leadership convention. The bylaw was meant to clarify the conditions of membership to the party, Bober said.
Both PC and Liberal party constitutions have similar bylaws to that of the Green Party. Both parties prohibit members from taking out memberships in other parties, although neither the Liberals nor PC constitutions state that promotion of candidates from other parties is prohibited.
Related: Sarah Stewart-Clark enters P.E.I. PC leadership race
