Meet the 5 people running federally in P.E.I.'s Charlottetown riding

With little than a period until Canadians caput to the polls to ballot successful the national election, candidates crossed P.E.I. are hitting the run way successful an effort to go — oregon stay — a subordinate of Parliament. To marque consciousness of who's moving for which enactment and where, CBC P.E.I. spoke to the candidates moving successful each of the province's 4 ridings. 

Up adjacent is Charlottetown. 

The province's astir municipality riding — which contains the City of Charlottetown and immoderate outlying areas toward Winsloe, Brackley and Miltonvale Park — has been held by the Liberals for much than 30 years. Liberal MP Sean Casey has represented the radical of Charlottetown for the past 4 terms. 

Joe Byrne, New Democratic Party

Joe Byrne is nary alien to campaigning. The erstwhile person of the provincial NDP antecedently ran successful the 2011, 2015 and 2019 national elections, arsenic good arsenic the 2023 and 2019 provincial elections. 

Campaigning for the April 28 election, Byrne said helium often tells voters: "If you privation change, you person to ballot for it. Voting for thing that you don't privation volition not bring the alteration successful that you want."

"As New Democrats, we person the courageousness really to situation the strategy and accidental that erstwhile a strategy doesn't enactment for regular residents of Charlottetown — for everybody — past it conscionable doesn't work. So let's not beryllium acrophobic to alteration it," helium said. 

An NDP authorities would marque beingness much affordable for Islanders with 2 cardinal policies, Byrne said. 

First, it would present a basal guaranteed income. 

"This has been vetted by immoderate of the apical economists successful the country. It's possible, and it would bring successful a portion of economical stableness for a batch of radical who are, close now, vulnerable," helium said. 

Second, an NDP authorities would modulate market store prices, which Byrne said person been moving rampant since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"The large market chains are gouging america due to the fact that they can," helium said.

Byrne said an NDP authorities would besides put successful lodging and health. 

"We request publically owned, publically controlled lodging to guarantee that everybody gets decent housing. This is not a privilege, it's a right," helium said, adding that gathering much homes is simply a apical priority. 

"We've relied connected the backstage assemblage to supply safe, affordable, accessible lodging for the past 3 decades. And the backstage assemblage has an important relation to play, but it volition not present that benignant of housing."  

When it comes to health-care concerns, Byrne said it's a "big, large picture," adding that getting national backing to the provinces is key. 

"We should spot provinces to beryllium capable to present health," helium said, noting that show indicators for health-care systems crossed the state should beryllium circumstantial to their location. 

Good wellness care, lodging and affordability are important to surviving successful dignity, Byrne said. 

"Never enactment quiet, and ne'er springiness up," helium said.

Daniel Cousins, Green Party

In summation to campaigning and door-knocking, Daniel Cousins is wrapping up a Bachelor of Arts astatine UPEI. 

While balancing the national predetermination with studying is "chaotic," Cousins said they emotion a challenge. 

A young person, a pupil and a renter successful Charlottetown, Cousins said they are tuned into immoderate of the large issues successful the riding. 

"It gives maine a antithetic perspective," they said. "I'm precise good versed successful however overmuch tuition is close present and what pupil loans are like." 

Cousins said they anticipation to bring immoderate of the issues affecting young radical to the fore, and marque definite radical are alert of them. 

"We request affordable kid care, we request wellness care, we request dental care, we request nutrient security, we request affordable homes, we request to beryllium capable to unrecorded determination and, if we privation to person kids, not look the menace of eviction," Cousins said. 

That said, tariffs are the main interest they've heard astatine the door. 

Islanders are stepping up astatine the market store and buying Canadian, Cousins said.

"We're preparing for this and I deliberation our system volition bash amended if we support this momentum of buying Canadian and supporting section business," they said. 

Another interest Cousins said voters person expressed is that biology issues are "getting shoved to the side." 

"I promote radical to deliberation precise hard astir who they're electing, adjacent if it's not me," Cousins said. "I recognize determination are radical voting retired of fear, and I don't privation them to consciousness ashamed astir that." 

Cousins said they enactment their sanction successful the moving due to the fact that they didn't privation the Green Party to suffer momentum that it's been building. 

"This mightiness not beryllium my election, but my predetermination mightiness beryllium successful 2029… If it's a climate-change election, past who amended than the idiosyncratic who's studying clime change?" they said. 

With predetermination day approaching, Cousins said they're looking guardant to proceeding much astir different candidates' plans to tackle immoderate of the large issues. 

"I americium hoping to spot policies from the different national parties due to the fact that each I'm proceeding truthful acold are slogans. Slogans are great, but they're not existent policy. They're not existent plans."

Robert Lucas, People's Party of Canada

Robert Lucas is simply a first–time campaigner for the People's Party of Canada. He describes himself arsenic being "a young 82."  

"Instead of putting my feet up successful retirement, [I person decided] to travel retired and to assistance the radical not lone successful Charlottetown but close crossed the country… to reconstruct Canada," helium said. 

Here's however his introduction connected the PPC tract describes him: "He is driven by a heavy committedness to lasting up for his assemblage and defending the halfway values of freedom, idiosyncratic responsibility, respect, and fairness."

The acquisition of campaigning has been a pleasant one, Lucas said, saying residents of the Charlottetown riding person opened up to him and expressed a assortment of concerns. 

Others person their minds made up connected who they're voting for, and adjacent though it whitethorn not beryllium the PPC, they are affable to him nonetheless, helium said. 

"That's what I similar astir state of choice," helium said. "I'm lasting up… putting myself guardant to beryllium the campaigner of the alternative." 

U.S. President Donald Trump's commercialized warfare and annexation talk, American tariffs against Canada and different countries, immigration, wellness attraction and the national government's increasing shortage are among the issues Lucas said he's proceeding astir erstwhile helium talks to voters connected the streets and astatine the doors astir the riding.  

"Major changes request to beryllium made present successful Canada," Lucas said, adding that the People's Party of Canada would bash that by tackling 1 contented astatine a time. 

"We person to code the fiscal facet sooner than later, and our person Maxime Bernier is the lone person that is professing to — and showing however — the shortage tin beryllium positively addressed and eliminated," helium said, noting that the People's Party of Canada is committed to delivering a balanced fund twelvemonth aft twelvemonth if it forms the adjacent national government. 

The enactment is besides focused connected reducing the fig of newcomers to Canada, Lucas said. 

"The superior purpose of Canada's migration argumentation should beryllium to economically payment Canadians and Canada arsenic a whole, the enactment says connected its website. "It should not beryllium utilized to forcibly alteration the taste quality and societal cloth of our country."

Sean Casey, Liberal Party

 The April 28 predetermination volition beryllium the 5th for incumbent Sean Casey. But this predetermination has a antithetic energy, helium said. 

"Never earlier has the elector engagement been truthful precocious truthful early," helium said. "People are wholly dialled successful and they person been for weeks."

That engagement is tied to the Liberal Party's alteration successful enactment this winter, Casey said. 

"The continued beingness of Justin Trudeau was thing that was a large preoccupation for radical successful Charlottetown. That's wherefore I raised it," said Casey, 1 of the archetypal Liberal MPs to impulse the erstwhile premier curate to resign. 

As the tariff situation continues, Mark Carney's enactment is being well-received by Charlottetown voters, Casey said.

"Carney has the temperament, the extent and the acquisition to usher america done this, whereas idiosyncratic who spent his full nonrecreational beingness connected Parliament Hill doesn't," helium said. 

"The ballot question is intelligibly who tin champion negociate the narration with the United States. And I person a clump of radical that are saying to me, 'That idiosyncratic is Carney' — but I person conscionable arsenic galore that are saying, 'That idiosyncratic is not Poilievre.'"

While the Canada-U.S. narration is an important issue, it's not the lone one, Casey said: "The perennial issues are wellness care, affordability… housing." 

Casey said a Liberal authorities would proceed moving connected those with its provincial counterpart, present led by Rob Lantz. 

"Our narration with the provincial authorities nether Dennis King [was] exemplary. Dennis King and the authorities of P.E.I. person been precise bully partners connected each federal-provincial matters," helium said. 

"Even though a alteration astatine the caput of the Liberal Party of Canada has changed the h2o connected the beans, I don't deliberation it volition with the alteration to the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I." 

After 4 presumption successful national office, Casey said helium remains driven. 

"It's the honour of my beingness to beryllium capable to service my neighbours.

"I spot myself arsenic the dependable of Charlottetown successful Ottawa, and not the opposite. And that's wherefore I person from clip to clip taken positions against my enactment and criticized my ain party. The radical of Charlottetown merit that."

Natalie Jameson, Conservative Party

Natalie Jameson made the leap from provincial to national authorities aft six years arsenic an MLA for Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park. 

She said the determination came aft galore sleepless nights and household discussions. 

"We ne'er privation to look backmost successful beingness with regret," the erstwhile provincial acquisition curate said. 

"I felt that determination was a beardown sentiment of alteration wrong the assemblage and I felt — to beryllium honorable — a spot of a hypocrite if I didn't bash it due to the fact that I've been trying to promote women implicit the past fig of years to get progressive successful politics." 

Jameson said erstwhile the accidental arose to tally federally, galore radical encouraged her. 

"I cognize that I'm a idiosyncratic that cares profoundly astir our assemblage and our state and our country, and I privation to marque a quality for the adjacent generation." 

To bash that, affordability is simply a cardinal piece, Jameson said. 

"I privation to marque people's lives better, and arsenic an MP there's ways… to really amended the lives of Islanders and Canadians," she said. 

"We've conscionable seen ostentation emergence truthful dramatically implicit these past fig of years and I privation to beryllium portion of getting it backmost nether power and ensuring that radical person what they request to conscionable their needs and conscionable their family's needs." 

One of the strengths Jameson said she would bring to the MP's relation is simply a beardown narration with the provincial furniture and caucus, having worked with them for the past six years. 

"I cognize what immoderate of the challenges are, I cognize what immoderate of the solutions are and I'm acceptable and consenting to collaborate and spouse with the provincial authorities connected addressing those concerns," she said, noting her engagement successful provincial health-care developments related to the schoolhouse of medicine and the doc statement covering however doctors are treated and compensated for their work. 

"I'll proceed that enactment and that collaboration if elected, and yet we each person communal goals and that's serving the needs of Islanders." 

A Conservative authorities would beryllium focused connected gathering homes, supporting tradespeople, axing GST connected caller homes and rolling retired a bluish seal programme successful collaboration with the provinces and territories, Jameson said.