10 districts to watch in P.E.I.'s April 3 provincial election
CBC
We're in the final hours as voters prepare to head to the polls Monday to cast ballots in the next Prince Edward Island provincial election.
With 27 districts, five parties and 119 candidates, there's plenty for Islanders to keep an eye on as results roll in.
Every district is worth watching, to be clear, but we've earmarked nine that were tightly contested in the 2019 vote and one that's a head-to-head battle between two party leaders.
Will the same districts be close races this election? Will the results signal tides of change, or have time and circumstance hardened support for the incumbents?
So let's talk about what we do know: Last time, these nine districts were decided by less than 10 per cent of the popular vote.
When you get within that range, even one or two polls can decide who's heading to the legislature. The parties know this, and a narrow victory in one election often means a more pointed strategy by other parties next time around.
The 10 districts are described below, with candidates sorted alphabetically by last name.
WATCH | As an added bonus, here are Paul MacNeill's picks for the 2023 provincial election
Islanders may remember this as the coin-flip district. Yes, a coin toss decided who won after a tie just eight years ago.
Historically the PCs have held District 5 three times and the Liberals three times, with the Greens gaining it in 2019. Incumbent Green Michele Beaton won in 2019 with 1,152 votes (38.1 per cent) over PC Mary Ellen McInnis's 943 votes (30.9 per cent).
Randy Cooper and the Liberals placed an extremely narrow third with 902 votes (29.8 per cent) with the NDP's Lawrence Millar claiming 38 votes (1.3 per cent).
Does it get anymore hotly contested than an actual tie and elections regularly won by a margin of less than 10 per cent?
Here is who's running this time:
Although this district was newly redrawn in 2019, the region has always elected a candidate in the caucus of the winning party. Meaning, this is the only district on P.E.I. that can be considered a true bellwether.
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Diane Sims has already written her own obituary.
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When Kevin Campbell took a 1991 Chevy truck in trade at his dealership on Moncton's Salisbury Road in early November, he didn't have it for long.
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As the fallout over fallen buildings in Gore Park continues, Hamilton officials will be turning their attention to other properties.
Fire crews responded to a transport truck fire on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
When the government touts that its auto insurance reforms might curb premiums by $400 come 2027, the ministers and premier don't readily mention what's to come in the three years leading up to that.