GEORGETOWN, P.E.I. — It did not take long for newly sworn-in Premier Dennis King to become emotional in front of his friends, family and peers in Georgetown.
Shortly after King and his eight-member cabinet were sworn in on Thursday morning on the stage of the Kings Playhouse, King was called to the podium to speak. After thanking P.E.I. Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry for allowing his swearing-in ceremony to take place in his hometown, King’s eyes welled up.
He became briefly overwhelmed with emotion as the crowd of over 300 began to roar.
"This is the place of my birth, and it's the home of my heart," King said after quickly recovering.
"I'm glad my mom is here. I wish she'd stop crying," King continued.
"She's the proudest woman in P.E.I. today. My four sisters haven't stopped crying since about nine o'clock this morning. And my three brothers, if I know them, have a lump in their throat that they've been trying to swallow since they got up this morning."
King said he has come very far from his days at Georgetown Elementary School as a “just maybe slightly better than average student with the big freckles and the bad haircut”.
Students of the elementary school, which the previous government had briefly considered closing in 2017, would later sing O Canada before King and his new cabinet.
In addition to the title of premier and president of executive council, King will be assuming several ministerial portfolios. These will include minister responsible for intergovernmental affairs, minister responsible for Indigenous relations and minister responsible for Acadian and francophone affairs.
King’s small cabinet drew heavily upon incumbent members, who served in Opposition during the previous terms. Darlene Compton of Belfast-Murray River was named deputy premier and minister of finance, as well as minister responsible for Status of Women.
Former PC Leader James Aylward was named minister of health and wellness.
Other veteran PC caucus members were also named to cabinet, including: Steven Myers, minister of transportation, infrastructure and energy; Jamie Fox, minister of fisheries and communities; Matthew MacKay, minister of economic growth, tourism and culture; Brad Trivers, minister of education and lifelong learning, as well as minister of environment, water and climate change.
In addition, two newly-elected MLAs became ministers: Bloyce Thompson, who defeated former premier Wade MacLauchlan, was named minister of agriculture and land, as well as minister of justice and public safety and attorney general; and Ernie Hudson, MLA for Alberton-Bloomfield and the sole representative of Prince County in caucus, is minister of social development and housing.
Absent from cabinet were two incumbent MLAs, Colin LaVie and Sidney MacEwen, as well as Cory Deagle, the newly elected MLA from Montague-Kilmuir.
However, MacEwen will play a significant role in government. The Morrell-Donagh MLA will chair a special commission to work with the Partnership for Growth, a coalition of business and industry organizations that formed shortly before the election.
King also confirmed MacEwen will serve as the government house leader and will be tasked with working with all parties in the legislature.
"Everything we want to do and pass as a government, we need the support of at least one and, hopefully, two other parties. So that job is a very, very important job," King said.
In addition, Aylward of Stratford-Keppoch will serve as the minister responsible for greater Charlottetown, while MacKay, representing Kensington-Malpeque, will serve as minister responsible for greater Summerside.
King’s cabinet, so far, does not include MLAs from other parties, which the premier had suggested might be a possibility for his minority government. However, King did not rule out this occurring in the future.
“I think it remains a realistic possibility. I don't think any of the three party leaders or representatives that we've chatted with have said no to the idea," King said.
King said a legislative committee would be struck to study how multi-party cabinets have functioned in other jurisdictions.
During his speech on Thursday, King also spoke about the importance of cross-party collaboration, a theme he repeatedly invoked in last month’s election campaign.
He ended his speech with advice to his new cabinet colleagues.
"Be bold, be courageous, be different, be kind. Co-operate with your legislative colleagues. Be open to good ideas.
"If we do that, we will be living up to the oaths that we have sworn on this stage, here this morning."
Watch the video of the ceremony below:
Posted by Prince Edward Island Government on Thursday, May 9, 2019
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