Island Party

Political party in Canada

Island Party of Prince Edward Island

Leader| Mike McCormick (interim)
President| Vacant
Founded| 2007; officially on March 5, 2010 (2010-03-05)
Headquarters| PO Box 863 Montague, PEI C0A 1R0
Ideology| Environmentalism
Direct democracy
Green conservatism
Political position| Centre-right
Website
https://www.islandparty.ca/

* Politics of Prince Edward Island
* Political parties

The Island Party of Prince Edward Island, also known as the Island Party of PEI or the Island Party for short, is a Canadian political party active in Prince Edward Island.[1]

## History

[edit]

Flag of Prince Edward Island frequently used by the party

The Island Party of Prince Edward Island formed after the 2007 election.[2] The party officially registered on March 5, 2010,[3] and the first leader of the party was Jay Gallant, who served in an interim role.[4]

In March 2011, former Liberal candidate Billy Cann was acclaimed as the leader of the party.[5] The party fielded 12 candidates in the 2011 election under Cann.[6]

On August 9, 2012, Cann announced that he was leaving the party to join the NDP.[7]

On March 1, 2015, Paul Smitz was named the interim leader of the party.[8] However, the party was deregistered later that year, when it failed to nominate the required 10 candidates for the 2015 election and did not file an information return.[9]

The party re-registered on September 9, 2022.[10] Party president, Paul Smitz, cited Liberal and PC governments' failure to rescind the controversial Municipal Government Act as a significant reason for the party re-forming. In addition to serving as president, Smitz was also the acting leader of the relaunched party.[11]

On March 10, 2023, Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás was appointed as the party leader.[12][13]

The party nominated 11 candidates for the 2023 election under leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás, electing none and receiving 0.55% percent of the popular vote.[14]

Party leader Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás said they were proud of their diverse candidates which were distributed across the province, though she was disappointed that they weren't invited to any leaders’ debates.[15]

Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás was removed as party leader on February 11, 2024, by a non-confidence vote from the membership.[16]

In June 2025, Mike McCormick was listed as the new interim leader by Elections PEI.[17]

## Ideology

[edit]

Political scientist of University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Don Desserud, described the party's platform as "right-leaning" with "some progressive social policy," and compared the party to the United Farmers movement.[10]

Members of the party participated in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 public health mandates.[10]

## Platform

[edit]

### Regionalization ambitions

[edit]

Main article: Regionalism (politics)

The Island Party sees regionalization as an attempt to unload some of the tax burden for major infrastructure on rural Islanders.[18]

Noticeably, the Island Party wants to review the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which the group considers it to be contentious, in order to ensure democracy is respected. Furthermore, to make sure that local residents have a say in how money is spent within municipalities, the Island Party proposed a vote on yearly budgets in every city in PEI. They believe that by doing so, the Minister's powers will be reduced and the government will no longer be able to create or restructure municipalities without approval from residents.

The Island Party also believes that regional cooperation should be promoted through the creation of economic development zones. Representatives from community councils and industry sectors within these zones could be elected to serve on a regional board while preserving and strengthening the Islanders' communities.

### Plank

[edit]

Besides regionalization, as per the party's website, the party's plank is as follows:

* Water conservation: preserving natural water across the island and ensuring safe drinking water to all Islanders
* Direct democracy: introducing recall elections, referendums, and citizen initiative
* Land conservation: enforcing the Lands Protection Act and closing loopholes, and protecting natural wildlife and soils

## Leaders

[edit]

Leader  | Term in office  | Notes

|
|

Jay Gallant  | March 5, 2010  | March 2011  | Interim
Billy Cann  | March 2011  | August 9, 2012  |
Paul Smitz  | March 1, 2015  | 2015  | Interim
September 9, 2022  | March 10, 2023  | Acting
Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás  | March 10, 2023  | February 11, 2024
Mike McCormick  | June 2025  | present  | Interim

## Electoral record

[edit]

Election  | Leader  | Candidates  | Seats  | Votes  | %  | Place  | Position

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2011 | Billy Cann  |

12 / 27

0 / 27

| 682  | 0.91%  | 5th  | Extra-parliamentary
2023 | Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás  |

11 / 27

0 / 27

| 411  | 0.55%  | 5th  | Extra-parliamentary

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Island Party".
2. ^ "Island Party". CBC News. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
3. ^ "History of Elections on PEI". Elections Prince Edward Island. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
4. ^ "P.E.I. gets Island Party". CBC News. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
5. ^ "Island Party Leader Billy Cann". CBC News. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
6. ^ "Leader Billy Cann on the Island Party". CBC News. September 26, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
7. ^ "Cann leaving Island Party for NDP". CBC News. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
8. ^ Ross, Ryan (4 March 2015). "Island Party running in next provincial election". SaltWire. SaltWire Network. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
9. ^ McLeod, Gary (October 7, 2015). 2015 Report from the Chief Electoral Officer of Prince Edward Island (PDF) (Report). Elections Prince Edward Island. p. 7. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
10. ^ a b c Neatby, Stu (September 9, 2022). "P.E.I.'s Island Party to be on the ballot in next provincial election". Saltwire. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
11. ^ "The Island Party officially registered as political party in PEI". Ocean 100. Stingray Group. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
12. ^ MacLean, Logan (14 March 2023). "Ahava Kálnássy de Kálnás to lead Island party candidates in first P.E.I. election since 2011". SaltWire. SaltWire Network. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
13. ^ Smitz, Paul (10 March 2023). "As you may have heard the Island Party has a Leader". Facebook. Island Party of Prince Edward Island Discussion Group. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
14. ^ "Election result in PEI".
15. ^ Jenkins, Alison (April 4, 2023). "P.E.I.'s Island Party claims sliver of popular vote in first showing since 2011". Saltwire. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
16. ^ "New Board of Directors Announced". Facebook. Island Party. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
17. ^ "Registered Political Parties". Elections PEI. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
18. ^ "Regionalization, a proposal policy of the Island Party".

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