Liberals, NDP select candidates for District 16 byelection
CBC
The candidates for the four main parties are now all set for the P.E.I. byelection in Cornwall-Meadowbank next month.
Jane MacIsaac, a business executive who's also a trained nurse, was selected from a field of four candidates Wednesday to represent the Liberal Party in the District 16 byelection Nov. 15.
MacIsaac won the nomination after 204 ballots were cast at a meeting of Liberals at North River Fire Hall in Cornwall.
"Voters need to know I'm 100 per cent committed to this," said MacIsaac, after results of the balloting were revealed.
"This is a full-time job and a full-time desire of my heart to see things move in a positive direction."
MacIsaac holds an MBA, a diploma in nursing, and lists work in international trade and women's entrepreneurship among her professional achievements.
Cornwall-Meadowbank is the most loyally Liberal in the province. It has been Liberal since it was created in 1996, and its predecessor 2nd Queens was entirely Liberal for a decade before that. The byelection became necessary when Liberal MLA Heath MacDonald resigned to run federally in the Malpeque riding, which turned out to be a successful bid.
The Liberals held six of 27 seats in the provincial legislature before MacDonald's resignation.
"Nobody would deny that we're in a challenging position as the third party," said MacIsaac.
"It's important that people understand that we can be hopeful and we can be optimistic."
Island New Democrats announced Wednesday that Cornwall resident Larry Hale was acclaimed as their candidate.
Hale is a biology professor at UPEI and a long-time member of West River United Church in Cornwall.
Hale had begun knocking on doors Wednesday as the campaign gains momentum.
"The big one is health care. A lot of people in Cornwall-Meadowbank don't have a family physician," said Hale.