CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Newly elected Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park MLA Natalie Jameson was officially sworn in Thursday morning, becoming the 13th Progressive Conservative MLA elected to the legislature.
In a brief ceremony at the Coles Building in Charlottetown, attended by Jameson's husband, two young children and parents, Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry oversaw Jameson's oath of allegiance. The event was attended by all members of the Progressive Conservative caucus, including Premier Dennis King.
King has hinted Jameson could be given a cabinet position within his minority government, but no further details have yet been released.
In an interview after the ceremony, Jameson said she hoped her new role would have a positive impact on her two sons, William and Henry.
"For them, I hope that they'll always look up to me as a person that is able to have a voice within the community, just like I did. My dad was a schoolteacher, and what bigger honour and privilege for him to be able to have that voice and be able to influence kids," Jameson said.
"I hope that they'll see that and be able to sort of live their life and know that they, too, can have a voice."
Jameson is a relative political newcomer but managed to win the deferred election in her district on July 15 by a sizable margin, defeating Liberal candidate Karen Lavers, Green candidate John Andrew and the NDP's Gordon Gay.
Prior to running, she worked in a variety of positions with the Alberta-based oil and gas firm Obsidian Energy Ltd. These included working as a staff recruiter, marketing representative and community investment coordinator.
Over the last several weeks, Jameson has had meetings with all ministers within the King government to get a sense of their role. She also said she has been meeting with constituents who shared concerns with her during the campaign, such as the increasingly busy traffic on St. Peters road.
She said she has raised some of these concerns with Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Minister Steven Myers.
"In the coming weeks and months here, you'll see something more formally rolled out in terms of a long-term plan," Jameson said.
"I know that it's obviously a key priority for the district, so I'm going to continue making sure that those concerns are heard at caucus and will continue having those discussions with Minister Myers.”
During last April’s election, King pledged to release a comprehensive plan for the St. Peters corridor within 100 days of being sworn in.
