Meet the 4 people running federally in P.E.I.'s Egmont riding
CBC News spoke with the candidates asking for votes in P.E.I.'s westernmost riding
With less than a month until Canadians head to the polls to vote in the federal election, candidates across P.E.I. are hitting the campaign trail in an effort to become — or remain — a member of Parliament. To make sense of who's running for which party and where, CBC P.E.I. spoke to the candidates running in each of the province's four ridings.
Up first is Egmont.
P.E.I.'s westernmost riding stretches from Seacow Pond down to West Point, and from Lennox Island all the way through to the eastern edge of Summerside. It takes its name from Egmont Bay, along the south shore of the riding.
Of the four ridings on P.E.I., this is the only one that has changed hands in recent years from the Liberals to the Conservatives and back to the Liberals once more.
Bobby Morrissey, Liberal Party
Robert (Bobby) Morrissey is Egmont's incumbent MP, holding the seat since 2015. Before that, he was a provincial MLA from 1982 to 2000.
He's no stranger to campaigns, but this one feels different.
"This election campaign has been unlike any one I've ran in the past, where people are being influenced by what's happening in the United States and that's what they're discussing with me at the door," Morrissey said.
"I've never experienced this reaction from constituents, from voters — that their anxiety level is so high, and high because of one dominant issue."
The world is in a very unsettled position right now, Morrissey said, with relations with the U.S. changing not just on a weekly basis but sometimes a daily one.
"People are very conscious and they are focused on who, in their opinion, would be best positioned to deal with the Trump administration over the next number of years. Certainly, overwhelmingly people are indicating that their view is Mark Carney, with his extensive global experience," Morrissey said.
The Liberal Party's change in leadership has altered the dynamic "dramatically," Morrissey said: "In this riding, people are looking for a mature, experienced leader. And that's what I'm hearing constantly at the door."
While Canada-U.S. relations have taken centre stage in this campaign, Morrissey said he has an agenda that includes growing the aerospace industry in Summerside and East Prince, partnering with the City of Summerside on innovative energy solutions, and continuing relationships with provincial and municipal governments.
In the last 10 years, the Liberal government has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to infrastructure projects in the Egmont riding, including ones that have turned Summerside into a "dynamic city that's on the move," Morrissey said.
"That's what I'm most proud of over the years — the infrastructure investments our government has made from tip to tip in every municipality."
Logan McLellan, Conservative Party
Logan McLellan first ran in Egmont in 2019, but lost to incumbent MP Morrissey by about 1,100 votes.
In the six years since then, McLellan said his convictions haven't changed much.
Back in 2019, McLellan told CBC News the high cost of living was one of the biggest issues among constituents of his riding. Six years later, he said affordability remains a top concern for people in Egmont.
"Their paycheques aren't keeping up with how expensive everything is, and it's really tough," he said.
"It's all demographics… It doesn't matter if I knock on the door of a 30-year-old or a 70-year-old — they're feeling the pinch in different ways."
The goal for a Conservative government is to leave more money in people's pockets, McLellan said, pointing to the party's pledge to cut income taxes as an example of how it would do that.
The second major concern McLellan said he's been hearing on the campaign trail is health care.
He said he would work with other levels of government to fight for Islanders on issues like access to primary care and hospital services.
"Even if it is a provincial issue, I'm going to be at the table advocating for them every single day because how the health care is here in Prince Edward Island is not acceptable and we need to do much better," he said.
In the face of U.S. tariffs and other disputes with that country's administration, McLellan said it's important that the government put Canada first.
"We've been heavily reliant on the U.S. for a long time, and it was a great relationship, but at this point it's very important that we put our country first," he said.
A Conservative government would do that by dropping interprovincial trade barriers, removing tolls from the Confederation Bridge and cutting red tape for Canadian industries, he said.
Carol Rybinski, New Democratic Party
Local industries are top of mind for Carol Rybinski.
Small businesses and communities in rural P.E.I. need some support, Rybinski said, adding that she loves how the New Democratic Party has always stood for the ideal of supporting people who need extra help.
"Now, more than ever, people are starting to get worried about just making ends meet," she said, adding that she's been hearing concerns about job security and affordability, too.
While tariffs might affect markets, Egmont fishers, growers and buyers are also worried about how the MSX crisis will affect their supply, she said.
"Our oyster industry is facing a really big threat from MSX and it could see a kill-off of 90 per cent of the oysters," she said.
"Tariffs added on top of that when they're trying to sell out of Canada is really adding a lot of stress to them, so they need some help… It could be really devastating to our economy here in Egmont."
Rybinski said she's committed to doing everything she can to raise awareness, share information and make sure the government is there to support residents of Egmont.
She said she hopes that amid the chaos of tariffs that bite into the American-Canadian relationship, the issue of health care doesn't get lost, since people are still very concerned about it.
A New Democrat government would push to improve health-care accessibility and affordability, provide guaranteed basic income, and remove GST from the necessities of life, Rybinski said.
"My concern is that people understand that there's choice," she said.
"The NDP really offers that opportunity to make sure that… the people who have the least are being taken care of, and that we really have a strong social fabric — which we're going to need in the next few years of turmoil, with what's going on south of the border," she said.
Ranald MacFarlane, Green Party
Ranald MacFarlane was a late entry to the race, but he said he put his name in the running as a Green Party candidate because he wanted to make a difference.
"I will not just stand idly by. Put up or shut up — so I'm putting up," he said.
MacFarlane said his goal on the campaign trail is to get the Green Party's message out there — and his voice has the intensity to carry.
"If I can get people to vote — vote, period — and get people engaged, I think the Greens will do very well," said MacFarlane, a dairy and pig farmer who with his wife operates Pleasant Pork in Fernwood. He previously ran provincially for the P.E.I. Green Party.
"I'm hoping the people of Egmont will be good enough to want to send a little farmer with a big mouth up to Ottawa so I can bring up the real issues," he said.
The two main issues MacFarlane is campaigning on are the environment and mental health. He said when he brings those issues up with constituents, they agree that they're important.
"A lot of people are struggling with the world and how it's falling apart," he said. "I don't want people to be isolated and alone. I will work to bring people back."
Post-tropical storm Fiona back in September of 2022 caused a lot of trauma that is still lingering, MacFarlane noted.
"Things are changing and no one is bringing up the environment. Emissions this year in Canada are going to go up again," he pointed out.
MacFarlane said he feels optimistic about the Green Party of Canada and its chances in Egmont.
"People are standing back — especially young people — they're standing back and they're weighing the options," he said.
"They want environmental concerns addressed… and the old parties aren't doing it for them," he said.
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With files from Cody MacKay