Early election warning about fairness, says Wes Sheridan

A motion tabled in the P.E.I. Legislature Tuesday saying changed political circumstances could lead to an early election call is about common courtesy, says Finance Minister Wes Sheridan.

The motion is in response to Premier Robert Ghiz’s announcement that he will resign as premier pending a leadership convention, expected in January or February.

“Our Liberal Party now is leaderless, just like the Conservative party has been for the past two-and-a-half years, and we want to give them warning,” said Sheridan.

“If the leadership is in February and they want to have an election in March, then that has to be available, so we’re saying to the other parties: get your house in order.”

Sheridan, who is considered by some to be a leading contender for the leadership, said he does not believe the newly-elected Liberal leader should stay on and govern for six months or a year, but should quickly call an election and earn a new mandate.

Under fixed election date legislation, the province is next scheduled to go to the polls Oct. 5, 2015. The Progressive Conservatives have a leadership convention scheduled for May 30, 2015.

The motion to discuss an early election was filed three minutes before the sitting closed Tuesday evening. Sheridan said that was not an attempt to slip it through, but rather because the clerk of the Legislature had requested some technical changes to the wording.