An historic night for the Green Party of PEI and PEI politics on Monday in the provincial by-election for District 11 Charlottetown-Parkdale.
Green Party candidate Hannah Bell won the by-election, capturing 768 votes or 35.4% of the vote. She defeated second-place finisher Bob Doiron of the Liberals by 157 votes. PC candidate Melissa Hilton was third with 586 votes and NDP Leader Mike Redmond got 202 votes.
Bell’s win doubles the number of seats for the Green Party in the legislature to two, as she joins party leader Peter Bevan-Baker in the house. It’s also means there will be a third-party caucus in the legislature for the first time.
Bell says she’s humbled and thrilled by her win. She says the overarching theme that she heard from residents during the campaign was that they want a government that truly represents them — they wanted change and a move away from confrontational politics. She says they want their issues to be raised and addressed in the lergislature.
As for specific issues, Bell wants to see the under-represented heard in the legislature, and one matter specifically, poverty.
Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker says not only is it an historic win for the Green Party, but also for the Island’s political history. He says residents want a change from the politics of confrontation — they want what the Green Party has been focussed on, which is working together on the issues that matter to them.