P.E.I. Greens holding off on choosing new leader until after federal election

CBC
·2 min read
Karla Bernard has served as the interim Green Party leader since peter-Bevan-Baker stepped down following the 2023 provincial election. (Steve Bruce/CBC - image credit)
Karla Bernard has served as the interim Green Party leader since peter-Bevan-Baker stepped down following the 2023 provincial election. (Steve Bruce/CBC - image credit)
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The P.E.I. Green Party will begin its leadership race shortly after the next federal election, which is scheduled for Oct. 20, 2025, unless one is called earlier.

The information was in a newsletter sent by the federal Green Party in Malpeque, P.E.I., which said the lull between elections will give the provincial party time to "regroup, listen, learn and dream."

It will enable the P.E.I. Greens to have a leader solidly in place in time for the next provincial election, which is scheduled for Oct. 4, 2027.

Karla Bernard, the MLA for District 12, Charlottetown-Victoria Park, has been the interim Green leader since last July when she took over for Peter Bevan-Baker.

Bevan-Baker resigned as leader following the 2023 provincial election, though he remains the MLA for District 17, New Haven-Rocky Point.

Bernard and Bevan-Baker were the only two Green MLAs in the P.E.I. Legislature until Matt MacFarlane won the February byelection in District 19, Borden-Kinkora. That seat was previously held by Jamie Fox of the governing Progressive Conservatives, who stepped down to run as a federal Conservative candidate.

Green Party candidate Matt MacFarlane, shown speaking to reporters Wednesday night, will be the new MLA for District 19.
Green Party candidate Matt MacFarlane, shown speaking to reporters Wednesday night, will be the new MLA for District 19.

Matt MacFarlane won the byelection in District 19, Borden-Kinkora, back in February to become the Greens' third member in the P.E.I. Legislature. (Ken Linton/CBC)

The party's win in District 19 put them into a tie with the Liberal Party with three seats each in the legislature, though Speaker Darlene Compton ruled at the beginning of the spring sitting that the Liberals would maintain their Official Opposition status.

MacFarlane, who was the party's president until he stepped down after his byelection win, will be the guest speaker at the Green Party's federal Malpeque annual general meeting May 18 in Hunter River.

The provincial Greens will select a new president at their AGM in June.

The Opposition Liberals are also without a permanent leader.

Hal Perry, the MLA for District 27, Tignish-Palmer Road, has served as interim leader for the past year.