Newly elected lawmakers gear up for 'MLA school' with work of governing set to begin

Political candidates just had a grueling couple of weeks leading up to election night on Monday. But for newly minted MLAs, the real work is just beginning.

Lawmakers are set to attend a "MLA school," where they will learn the ropes — or get a refresher — of what being an member of the P.E.I. Legislature means.

Orientation sessions will be spread out over the next month or so, before the legislature sits. They will involve a mock parliament, mingling lunches with colleagues, and review of things such as payroll, their legislative duties, available supports, and the layout of the buildings they will use.

This year, orientation has been expanded to three full days. Joey Jeffrey, clerk of the Legislative Assembly, says members have a lot of procedures and rules to learn.

"It's such a whirlwind for new members. It's like starting any job," Jeffrey said. "You've just gone through this campaign, you've won an election, and then we're basically forcing as much information as we can on you.

"But spreading it out over three days, I think it's very manageable."

As usual after an election, brand-new members will have to be sworn in. Then comes the crafting and announcement of a new cabinet, and the election of a new speaker. 

In the meantime, MLAs are doing preparations of their own.

'Time to get down to business'

Rob Lantz, the newly elected MLA for District 13: Charlottetown-Brighton, is still taking down campaign signs but has already started to think about his next steps.

"It's amazing how quickly the mind switched from campaign mode to what comes next. Immediately on election night, I started to think, 'OK, it's time to get down to business,'" he said. 

Lantz, who has experience in municipal politics and is a former leader of the provincial Progressive Conservatives, said many coming into the legislature for the first time have had roles at some level of government previously. But being an MLA is a "whole new job," he said.

"We're well aware of what the big issues are, the concerns of people," Lantz said. 

"We've just spent the last four weeks knocking on doors, speaking to people, and we know where the people of Prince Edward Island want us to focus. So in that regard, we're ready to go."

No recount

In total, there were nine brand new MLAs elected, all of them with the Progressive Conservatives, who picked up 22 seats on Monday. Three Liberals will make up the Official Opposition, and two Green candidates were also elected.

In the closest race of the night, Jenn Redmond defeated incumbent Green MLA Michelle Beaton in District 5 Stratford-Mermaid by just 38 votes. 

Under the Election Act, a recount is automatic if there is a difference of 10 or fewer votes, but there's no set number for how many votes a candidate must lose by before requesting a judicial recount.

Beaton confirmed on Wednesday that she will not seek a recount, after speaking with people from the campaign who observed the count. 

In 2015, there were two judicial recounts, each changed the result by just two votes. In the case of PC Mary Ellen McInnis, that resulted in a tie vote, settled by a coin toss — which she lost, to Liberal Alan McIsaac.

As for Redmond, she said she's just excited to get to the issues that matter to her constituents the most.

"Health care has obviously been a big topic, and it was a big topic in this district as well. We want ... to continue to make some great traction there on the programs that are in place," she said.  

First on the to-do list: A new cabinet

Premier Dennis King said this week that it's time to resume the hard work. That includes addressing the crisis in the health care system, which he said his party will continue to make improvements on after four years in government.

Also priorities: the housing file, and tackling the rising cost of living.

His first task, though, will be picking a cabinet.

"A lot of tough decisions to make," he said of that job. "We have a very deep bench we have to pick a new cabinet from.

"I think that will be great for P.E.I., but that will be some difficult decisions for us."