After another low turnout, it looks like we've got a winner in the PEIs greatest premier contest.
My personal choice come through victorious - Alex Campbell - the Island's longest serving premier, who is often credited with being the strongest modernizing force in PEI history.
I'm looking forward the rest of the competition and hope the blogosphere in the rest of the country will give Campbell a fair shake.
Finally, we've arrived at the finals for PEIs best premier. It's come down to a battle between the longest serving Conservative premier in Island history versus the longest serving Liberal premier - Pat Binns vs. Alex Campbell.
You can vote to determine PEIs greatest premier by clicking on this link.
I've already cast my vote for Campbell, but I think both of these two would be worthy choices.
Since voting's been slowing to a crawl the last few rounds, I'm not going to go on about the two candidates, but look at previous posts for my take on them. I will leave you with a couple of good media links from the CBC though. First, a CBC-TV story on Binns' first victory in 1996. Second, a great longer TV piece on the oh-so-close, and fascinating, election that put Campbell in the premier's office in 1966.
It's really late and I've been working all day, plus the number of votes in this is almost non-existant, so I'm not going to go into great depth. I'll just explain my votes in this round.
If you care about who's named PEIs best premier, take the time to vote. Your vote really will count!
Pat Binns (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. Angus MacLean (wiki/gov.pe.ca) - vote here
I've been torn on who to pick in this match-up. Binns certainly has a longer record as premier and much more electoral success. However, MacLean also had a very impressive streak of nine electoral wins after close losses in his first two federal elections in 1945 and 1949. Also, MacLean retired of his own accord, rather than going down in flames in the worst PEI election campaign I've ever observed.
Binns certainly deserves credit for growing the Island economy, despite having a federal government and 4 Liberal MPs who seemed to be determined to underfund the Island provincial goverment. However, his embrace of Stephen Harper in the 2005-6 election campaign was, in hindsight, clearly a big strategic mistake (I've got to think that Binns must have been a little disappointed that he couldn't run against Ottawa for a fourth consecutive election).
Binns deserves credit for bringing the issue of electoral reform to the table on PEI, but when the time came for him to take leadership on the issue he chickened out. Also, his overblown rhetoric and inability to control his caucus during the gerrymandering fiasco of Summer 2006 is a stain on his reputation. I was leaning towards casting my vote for Binns, but then I saw this news story today and was reminded of the Binns government's propensity to use the public purse to reward its supporters. As a result I'm going to cast my vote for the only Tory my maternal grandparents ever liked, the man who the Globe and Mail said "has the charm of a potato" - J. Angus MacLean!
Joe Ghiz (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. Alex Campbell (wiki/gov.pe.ca) - vote here
This battle between two legendary Liberal families was also a tough choice for me. Joe Ghiz was certainly a giant in PEI politics. He was the Premier who started the negotiations that led to the Confederation Bridge and played an important role on the national stage during the Meech Lake Accord. Renowned on PEI for his intellect and rhetorical flourish, he never was able to live up to his Opposition promises of reducing patronage once he got into government. Hopefully, his son's legacy as Premier will be to cleanse the PEI government of low politics.
But I've got to go with Alex Campbell. While he did loom as large on the national stage, he dramatically affect Island life, radically reshaping its institutions and nudging (at times dragging) a traditional society into the modern era. Thanks to a brilliant campaign by the younger Ghiz this spring, he will remain PEIs longest serving premier for at least another decade - and I would argue, PEIs best premier!
The voting will continue until Friday afternoon around 6:00 Atlantic time. Then I'll set up another poll for the finals, which will go until Sunday evening.
I'm a little disappointed with the number of votes in the last round, but we'll plow ahead with the contest nonetheless.
The semi-finals are just what I expected with Alex Campbell and Angus MacLean moving on. That sets up another round of matchups between a pair of Liberal and a pair of Tory premiers in the semi-finals. All four legendary figures in Island politics and the latter match-up being a particularly interesting one between mentor and protege.
Pat Binns (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. Angus MacLean (wiki/gov.pe.ca) - vote here
Joe Ghiz (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. Alex Campbell (wiki/gov.pe.ca) - vote here
The voting will continue until Friday afternoon around 6:00 Atlantic time. Will be back tomorrow sometime with a break-down of these match-ups.
I’m disappointed with the low numbers of votes in this round so far. We had just over 40 votes in the preliminary round, but only 11 so far – between the two match-ups!
The voting in this round will close late tomorrow evening, so get your votes in!
Alex Campbell v. Walter Jones – vote here
Alex B. Campbell (wiki/gov.pe.ca)
As I’ve said, the younger Campbell would be my personal choice for the Island’s greatest premier – and not just because he’s the only remain native of my home town Summerside. Although his premiership ended before I was born, Campbell had a sterling reputation in my Liberal family. Generally acknowledged as a forward-thinking visionary, Campbell had a bigger vision for the Island than anyone who’s come before or after him. He left a permanent mark on Island politics through the establishment of restrictions of absentee ownership of land, the development of consolidated schools in rural PEI and the establishment of UPEI by combining the two denominational post-secondary institutions that were in Charlottetown.
J. Walter Jones (wiki/gov.pe.ca)
“Farmer Jones” would not be my choice for best premier, but he clearly was a passionate promoter of Island agriculture. Credited with starting the seed potato industry on PEI, he also played an important role in the silver fox farming industry. He first ran for elected office as a Farmer-Progressive candidate in the 1921 federal election, but would become a Liberal in the 1935 sweep, taking the Premier’s chair eight years later after Alex’s father Thane took a seat on the bench. While not a friend of organized labour, Jones does get some credit in my books for being the Premier to finally bring an end to prohibition in the Garden Province (which was of course the last in Canada to do so).
Angus MacLean v. James Stewart – vote here
Angus MacLean (wiki/gov.pe.ca)
MacLean had a variety of jobs in his long life – fighter pilot, MP, Minsiter of Fisheries, Postmaster General, Premier and blueberry farmer. Also, he served as a mentor to a future Premier, and one of the leaders in this contest so far, Pat Binns. A distant relative of mine (and no, not everyone on PEI is related, MacLean is fondly remembered by many Islanders for his devotion to the traditional Island way of life, despite only being Premier for just over two years. He fought suburban sprawl (something later Premiers should have emulated), even bringing in a moratorium on shopping malls.
James Stewart (wiki/gov.pe.ca)
I’m away from a library or my books on Island history, so I can’t do much further research on Stewart, so I’ll just repeat what I wrote last week. I gotta give the guy credit for being the first Island premier to serve two separate terms and having the cojones to fight the prohibitionists.
Stewart became Premier in 1923 when he defeated John Howatt Bell’s Liberals. He would lose his post in 1927 for being – god forbid! – unwilling to bring in complete prohibition. Tenaciously he stuck around for another term as Leader of the Opposition and became Premier for a second time in 1931. He would press Ottawa for a better deal to help the Island deal with the Depression, but the job took a toll on his health and he would die two years later.
It’s now Monday afternoon and I’m calling the voting for the preliminary round of PEIs best premier closed.
The Premiers moving on to the next round are:
1 (tie). Pat Binns
1 (tie). Joe Ghiz
3. Alex B. Campbell
4. Angus MacLean
5. James D. Stewart
6. J. Walter Jones
So in the quarter-final matchups, it looks like a contest between two Liberals and another between two Tory premiers.
Alex B. Campbell (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. J. Walter Jones (wiki/gov.pe.ca) – vote here
J. Angus MacLean (wiki/gov.pe.ca) vs. James D. Stewart (wiki/gov.pe.ca) – vote here
Voting in this round will continue until Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time.
I’ll be back here tomorrow with some more background on the candidates and my picks to go on to the semi-finals.
After about 41 votes, the final six for the PEIs best premier contest are coming into focus. In this last post before revealing the finalists, I'll just briefly provide some background on the best Island premiers of the past generation, as it looks likely that most of them will be on to the next round. I'll also provide a brief tribute if one doesn't make it through.
J. Angus MacLean - wiki/gov.pe.ca
A distant relative of mine, MacLean was a war hero, MP, Minister of Fisheries (surprise!) and a passionate defender of the Island's rural way of life.
Joe Ghiz - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Canada's first premier of non-European extraction, Ghiz was known around the Island for his intelligence and the rest of the country for his role in the Meech Lake Accord. Arguably, the most important Island premier in national politics since Davies. With almost 25% of first preferences, Ghiz looks like he'll get a spot in the semis.
Catherine Callbeck - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Another first - the first elected female premier in Canada (in a province that has only elected 20 different women to its legislature). Her tenure was short but tumultuous. However, she stayed undefeated, letter her successor Keith Milligan take the electoral loss to Pat Binns in 1996. Now a Senator.
Pat Binns - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Binns, the affable bean farmer, MacLean protege and cabinet minister and one-term MP, would win three big election victories. He led the province through economic growth and some modernization. Binns tested the electorate one too many times and his Tories were soundly defeated on May 28 - to Ghiz's son Robert. Tied with his sucessor's father in first preference votes so far, Binns is another likely semi-finalist.
So if you've yet to vote, get your vote in - polls close tomorrow afternoon.
After a few days of voting for PEIs best premier, the favorites are starting to separate from the pack. Pat Binns and Joe Ghiz are clearly in the lead, both with enough first preference votes to be elected. My personal choice, Alex Campbell, is in third, while Stewart, Jones, MacLean and Callbeck appear to be the most likely candidates to move on to the final 6.
If you haven't voted yet, please take a second to cast a vote for PEIs best premier.
Thane A. Campbell - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Campbell the elder became Island Premier in 1936, after the death of Premier Walter M. Lea, who had led the Liberals to the first ever legislative sweep in the history of Westminster parliaments just the year earlier. In his seven years as Premier, this lawyer and Rhodes Scholar would pass the first law governing the civil service and establish the national park on the beautiful dunes of the north shore. His son Alex would become premier, making the Campbells the first Liberal family dynasty in the Premier’s Office.
J. Walter Jones - wiki/gov.pe.ca
After succeeding Campbell, Jones would serve for nearly a decade as Premier. An agronomist, Jones was an expert in the once important fox farming industry and credited with making the potato the staple of Island agriculture. Elected to the legislature in the sweep of 1935, he would take the Premier’s Chair in 1943 after Campbell took a seat on the provincial Supreme Court.
Jones became in/famous for his strident defence of Island agriculture. His policies are best summed up by the 1947 Canada Packers strike where he used the legislative power (which was of course overwhelming in the hands of gerrymandered rural districts) to break the strike and ban national and international unions on PEI (of course stronger in urban PEI). Jones justified it as “protecting the farm interest”. He would leave Island politics in 1953 to become a Senator.
Walter R. Shaw - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Another farmer, Shaw first became noted as a livestock breeder. He served as Deputy Minister before getting into politics and launched the PEI Federation of Agriculture. He won the Tory leadership in 1957 and would defeat the Liberal administration of Alex W. Matheson in 1959 at the ripe old age of 71. Shaw would bring some degree of centralization to secondary schools through a system of regional high schools and develop the food processing industry. He would win another election in 1962 before narrowly losing the 1966 election, by far PEIs most hard fought election.
Alex B. Campbell - wiki/gov.pe.ca
As I mentioned above, Campbell the younger is my choice for the Island's best premier. He took office after a dramatic election in 1966. During the campaign, one of the candidates in the First Kings riding on the eastern tip of the Island passed away, prompting the election administrators to postpone the vote in that riding. After the other 30 seats were split between the PCs and the Liberals, the reins of power came down to the subsequent by-election a dozen days later. In the meantime, Shaw named one of the Conservative candidates (the Island has dual-member districts until 1997) as Transportation Minister and proceeded to pave everything in the district. As this great archived piece from the CBC shows (watch it if you've got 10 minutes to kill,it well done), the voters of First Prince said thank you very much for the road work and elected two Liberal MLAs, making the 33 year-old Campbell one of the youngest premiers in Canadian history.
Campbell quickly staked out a position as a social reformer. His government has a particular focus on economic development, working with the federal government to enact the Comprehensive Development Plan, further professionalizing the Island's civil service. The Campbell government was ahead of its time, concerned with issues like renewable energy before they became fashionable, bringing the ultimately ill-fated Institute of Man and Resources to PEI. He further revamped the educational system by bringing in consolidated schools in rural PEI and established restrictions on absentee ownership of land. As Island historian Wayne MacKinnon argues in a book I really should pick up, Campbell "sought to achieve a balance between two conflicting cultures, and in the process, laid the foundations for the modernization of Prince Edward Island".
After a dozen years in office, making him the Island's longest serving first minister, Campbell left office to take a position on the province's Supreme Court.
I should be back tomorrow or early Sunday with the last four nominees for the Island's best premier. Remember, voting will close Monday afternoon, so get your votes in here.
First off, just wanted to plug my work's new website. I think it looks pretty sweet. I think the blog search function is pretty cool. So bookmark Vote for MMP for all your electoral reform needs! Send the link to your friends! And Ontarians, vote for more choice, fairer results and better representation on October 10.
But even more excitingly, I've decided to take part in the inimitable Calgary Grit's Search for Canada's Best Premier. I'll be hosting the "Search for PEIs greatest premier right here on this blog over the next couple of weeks.
I've decided I'll start off the competition by putting a selected group of a dozen premiers (6 Liberals and 6 Tories, for balance's sake) in an STV poll. I'll post that link tomorrow once I figure how to set that up, but without further adieu, here's my list of nominees for PEI's best premier:
James Colledge Pope - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Louis Henry Davies - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault - wiki/gov.pe.ca
James David Stewart - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Thane A. Campbell - wiki/gov.pe.ca
J. Walter Jones - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Walter R. Shaw - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Alex B. Campbell - wiki/gov.pe.ca
J. Angus MacLean - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Joe Ghiz - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Catherine Callbeck - wiki/gov.pe.ca
Pat Binns - wiki/gov.pe.ca
First, a big victory for the Liberals and premier-designate Robert Ghiz after a very-well run campaign. According to this Guardian story, the magnitude of the victory even surprised its architect and star performer.
For detailed election results, the Elections PEI website is world class.
Looking at my predictions, it turns out that I was way off myself. Looks like 4 seats was the floor for the Tories, I just picked the wrong ones! Never thought my middle school soccer coach/Provincial Treasurer Mitch Murphy would lose in District 20 but I stand corrected. If there's one Cabinet minister I was sad to see lose, it's him.
Props have to be given to the PEI Greens under the leadership of a woman I know well - Sharon Labchuk. In their first election, they beat the PEI NDP, both in popular vote and in terms of votes per candidate. Sharon's a tireless Green (deep, deep green) activist and been doing excellent (and prophetic it seems) work on the health and environmental effects of industrial agriculture on PEI for years.
It was clearly not a good election for the PEI NDP who were passed by the upstart Greens. From this political junkie's vantage, leader Dean Constable had a admirable campaign. The NDP was in the media with what appeared to be a well thought out platform (and campaign plan). I know the party is concentrating on building for the future so if they ran decent campaigns and trained some volunteers and identified lots of the 1600 votes they won, it was was a strong building block for future success.
As for Premier Binns, I'd love to ask him if today he wishes that he had done more the cause of proportional representation during his time in office. Because had the plebiscite passed in November 2005, it's likely that the standings in the next legislature would include an opposition of a dozen MLAs rather than four (all PCs and perhaps one Green). Thankfully the Liberals have promised a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform(see here), so we can expect the debate on electoral fairness to continue to develop on PEI.
Finally, I must say I'm so happy for the MLA-elect in District 22. Obviously, I've learned a great deal from my father. My interest in politics and community service was instilled my emulating my Dad. He's a smart, hard-working person who genuinely cares about his community. He's worked hard for them as an educator and community volunteer and I know he will do the same in historic Province House and in the government caucus.
It's late but I'll try and type out a more detailed analysis on the dynamics of the campaign tomorrow, but from a dedicated observer of PEI politics - this one's been a doozy!
