Prince Edward Island general election, 1979

Prince Edward Island general election, 1979

April 23, 1979 (1979-04-23)

All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 17 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   Lib Leader Angus MacLean Bennett Campbell Party Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since September 25, 1976 December 9, 1978 Leader's seat 4th Queens 3rd Kings Last election 15 seats, 48.1% 17 seats, 50.7% Seats won 21 11 Seat change +6 -6 Popular vote 68,440 58,175 Percentage 53.3% 45.3% Swing +5.2pp -5.4pp

Map of PEI's ridings coloured in based on how they voted

Premier before election Bennett Campbell Liberal Premier-designate Angus MacLean Progressive Conservative

The 55th Prince Edward Island general election was held on April 22, 1979.^[1]

The election was held just one year after the 1978 election, which featured a 17-15 split in MLAs in the legislature. Following the resignation of former premier Alex Campbell from his seat, the Legislature was in a 15-15 tie in voting members (the Liberal Speaker, Russell Perry, could not cast active votes in his role), the new Premier Bennett Campbell decided to call an election in an effort to regain his lost majority. The gambit failed, and instead the Progressive Conservatives led by Angus MacLean formed a strong majority government.

The campaign was the first to feature a female party leader running in PEI, with Doreen Sark serving as interim leader of the NDP.^[2] The campaign was also the only one in which the "Draft Beer Party of PEI" ran, with one candidate in 5th Queens.

Party Standings

Members Elected

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.^[3]

Kings

Prince

Queens

Sources

1. ↑ "Provincial General Election Results, 1979" (PDF). Elections PEI. 
2. ↑ "Woman leads Nova Scotia NDP". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Canadian Press. November 17, 1980. p. A5.  |access-date= requires |url= (help)
3. ↑ Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review. 

Elections and referendums in Prince Edward Island
General elections	1873 1876 1879 1882 1886 1890 1893 1897 1900 1904 1908 1912 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1996 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 next
Referendums	1878 1893 1898 1901 1913 1923 1929 1940 1948 1954 (May) 1954 (Nov) 1988 2005 2016
See also: List of Prince Edward Island by-elections