P.E.I. election campaign enters its final weekend

CHARLOTTETOWN -

After a short and relatively uneventful campaign it’s nearly time for islanders to go to the polls.

It’s the final weekend of the election on Prince Edward Island, and there hasn’t yet been much in the way of surprises.

“It was lacklustre, there was a lack of enthusiasm,” said Don Desserud, Political Expert. “I don’t think any political party seemed to be enjoying this.”

The last week of the campaign has seen the leaders of the big four parties go toe-to-toe in a number of debates and public forums.

Desserud said there was little in the way of platform surprises, but it gave the leaders the chance to show off their personalities. He is still expecting a strong showing from the Progressive Conservatives.

“It seems to be obvious to me that the Liberal Party and the Green Party have gone through this whole exercise with the expectation, not only that they were not going to win this election, but they were probably going to lose some seats, and they were trying to hold on to the seats that they get,” said Desserud.

Voter turnout is strong already, about 20 per cent of eligible voters already casted their ballot in the two advanced polls. The latest data on Friday shows that turnout at advanced polls is on track to reach around 30 to 35 per cent.

“Some other provinces get 36 per cent turnout just for the whole election,” said Tim Garrity, Chief Electoral Officer for Elections PEI. “We are definitely the envy of the country when it comes to voter turnout, and that’s for advanced, right through election day.”

In the 2019 general election, P.E.I.’s voter turnout was about 77 per cent and that’s a historic low.

So the candidates will be out in full force this last weekend of the campaign trying to drum up support among voters.