Todd Cormier joins Robert Mitchell in seeking P.E.I. Liberal Party leadership

The nomination deadline has passed and two candidates are set to run against each other for the leadership of P.E.I.'s Liberal Party: entrepreneur Todd Cormier and former MLA Robert Mitchell.

Cormier, who hasn't held public office in the past, said his business experience will bring new tools to the table to make a difference for Prince Edward Island.

"I really do feel I have something to offer," said the candidate, who was revealed to be in the running Monday, after Friday's nomination deadline for the Oct. 4 vote. "I created a successful business from basically two employees to 160 in three locations in 10 years."

That business was Eastern Fabricators, which Cormier launched in Georgetown and eventually sold in 2022 to AG Growth International from Winnipeg. 

"I'm not a typical career politician," he told CBC News on Monday. "I think everybody's going to know that right away... but I do have some specific tools that I think… I can apply here and make a difference."

Cormier said his driving issue would be the Island's health-care system, which he said isn't addressing the needs of the people who live here.

"It's no secret — I think the public opinion is that the current government isn't caring [about or] addressing the needs of Islanders, and what's going on in health care with access to doctors and the registry and stuff like that."

His leadership announcement said he would also tackle access to housing.

"Islanders face a significant housing shortage with no plan on how to get the workers to build the housing that Islanders so desperately need," the statement read.

"We also need to ensure that the housing that gets built is more affordable, particularly for young Islanders and those living on fixed incomes."

Mitchell promises new perspective

As for Mitchell, who announced his leadership bid in mid-May, he has a long track record in politics to bring to the table.

He won his first position as District 10's MLA in 2007, then was re-elected in 2011 and again in 2015. He served as interim party leader for the Liberals for four months after the 2019 general election in which then-premier Wade McLaughlin went down to defeat at the hands of Dennis King's Progressive Conservatives.

Mitchell said he can bring a new perspective to some of the pressing issues the province faces.

"As I'm talking to Islanders, there's inflationary costs, cost of living, our health-care system has been an issue ongoing, our education system has seen challenges as of late," he said.

"So these are all things that people are bringing to me, and I know the Conservative Party has been dealing with those, our Conservative government as well, but I think we can just bring a new perspective… to solutions there."

Mitchell said he has missed public service since leaving office.

"It's a good feeling when you're able to help people," he said. "Some of it is a simple type of help, some of it is more complex, but at the end of the day, when you have people coming to you and saying, 'Thank you very much for assisting me, or my family or my children, or my mother, or grandmother,' it's a really big deal to make your heart feel good.  

"I had missed that feeling, quite honestly, and I think I have some experience to offer back in public service here that people I think are looking for today, some stability. Steady hand, leadership — those are qualities I think I have."

Much turnover among P.E.I. leaders

Both candidates said they plan to start engaging with communities and going door to door in advance of the Oct. 4 leadership vote.  

The Liberals have been without a permanent leader since Sharon Cameron failed to win a seat in the 2023 provincial election. MLA Hal Perry has been the interim leader. 

The governing Progressive Conservatives are also without a permanent leader. Rob Lantz took over as interim leader and thus premier after King's sudden resignation this winter, and no date has been set for the party's leadership vote. 

The Green Party of P.E.I. recently chose MLA Matt MacFarlane as its permanent leader, replacing interim leader Karla Bernard. 

Michelle Neill has been the leader of P.E.I.'s New Democratic Party since 2022.