Dennis King steps down as Prince Edward Island's premier after nearly 6 years in the job

Dennis King says he is stepping down as the premier of Prince Edward Island effective at noon AT on Friday. 

The Progressive Conservative politician, who's 53, made the announcement during a news conference Thursday afternoon, with members of his cabinet standing in a line behind him. He is also stepping down as leader of the PC Party, he said.

King told the media that he decided to step down after a long conversation with his family over the holidays, but that he struggled with the decision. 

"I've felt for a while… that I had more runway behind me than I had in front of me," he said. "My health is fine, I'm doing very well."

King cited the recent fight against U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, saying the political issues at play are not simple ones. He said it was best for him to hand the baton of leadership to someone who can take the provincial government further. 

He acknowledged that his government has faced many challenges, from hurricanes and potato industry disruptions to the COVID pandemic. 

With a population of about 180,000, Prince Edward Island has an intimate political culture that means politicians are expected to answer questions about their actions on that kind of tough issue when they meet voters in the grocery store, in church, and at weddings and funerals.

But all in all, King said: "There have been more positives than negatives over the last six years."

Before becoming P.E.I.'s 33rd premier, King had already been around politics for a long time. The native of Georgetown in eastern P.E.I. had previously been a political commentator and director of communications in former premier Pat Binns's office. 

He won the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative leadership in February 2019. The PCs later earned a minority government in a provincial election in April that year, before a byelection gave them a slim majority. 

Islanders gave the King government a second term, this time with a majority, in a provincial vote in 2023. 

King is stepping down at a time when his popularity is still relatively high in comparison to most Canadian premiers. 

The most recent Narrative Research data last November suggested that King was Islanders' preferred choice for premier at 40 per cent of those polled. 

"In our over 25-year history of tracking on the Island, we see King having enjoyed the highest level of government satisfaction recorded. Despite notable drops in satisfaction over the last two years amid public health-care concerns, the performance of Premier King's government has since rebounded," Margaret Brigley, Narrative Research CEO and partner, said in a news release at the time of the poll's release.