Why P.E.I. is having an election in April, when the date fixed by law is in October

The short answer is, because Dennis King wants one now.

Since Confederation it has been the prerogative of premiers and prime ministers to call elections when they deemed it was time to do so. This frequently led to cries of foul, when leaders moved to call elections when they appeared to have an advantage, or delayed calls to avoid what seemed to be certain defeat.

Over the last couple of decades there has been some effort at change.

British Columbia introduced the idea of fixing election dates in 2001, but the idea didn't catch on immediately. After dates were fixed federally in 2007 more provinces jumped on board. By the end of 2008 most provinces had fixed dates, and with their introduction in Nova Scotia in 2021 all the provinces now have legislation in place.

But in terms of election dates, "fixed" is a relative term. This is the fourth election for P.E.I. since the Election Act was amended in May 2008, and only the first of those, in 2011, was held on the first Monday in October that would be Oct. 2 this year as spelled out in the legislation. The other three were held in the spring.

So what gives? Why were Wade MacLauchlan and Dennis King allowed to call spring elections when legislation sets the date in the fall?

The premier does not call the election

The answer is found in the first 11 words in the section of the Election Act that sets the fixed date.

• Nothing in this section affects the powers of the Lieutenant Governor.

When people say the premier has called an election that is not technically true. The word "premier" does not appear anywhere in the Election Act. It is the lieutenant-governor that dissolves the legislature and instructs the chief electoral officer to issue the writs of election. But under the convention of responsible government, the lieutenant-governor only acts on the advice of the premier.

So, that crucial clause could be read as

• Nothing in this section affects the powers of the premier.

This clause at the beginning of the section that sets the date of election relegates it from an order to a suggestion.

Crying foul again

The introduction of fixed date elections has had little impact on the controversy it was meant to address.

Liberal Leader Sharon Cameron did not wait for the actual election call to complain about an early vote. Cameron issued a news release last month calling on the premier to wait in order to allow potential candidates, and in particular women, the time to get their affairs in order and free themselves up to run for office.

The P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government has also come out in support of fixed election dates.

King was asked about fixed election dates during the 2019 campaign, and he agreed with Cameron and the coalition.

During a leaders' forum on women's issues, King said fixed election dates make politics more inclusive and less partisan.

"To me, a fixed election date is something that we should actually set and stick to," said King.

"To become a candidate for a party, whether you're a woman or not, it's a difficult decision. It takes time. I've been asked in the last four or five different elections to be a candidate and you have a lot of things that you have to weigh in the balance. When all of the sudden you're weighing that and an election is pulled out of the air, it makes you either frightened or pushes you into a decision that you're not ready to make."

Prince Edward Islanders will vote in a general provincial election on April 3.