Low support for Greens and NDP on P.E.I. came as no surprise to local candidates

It came as little surprise to two federal candidates on Prince Edward Island that the Green Party and NDP received such low support in Monday's federal election.

All four of the Island's ridings remained Liberal red on election night, with the party gathering 58 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservatives also made gains to earn 37.24 per cent of the vote, while support for smaller parties like the Greens and NDP shrank.

On P.E.I., the NDP had garnered about 2.5 per cent of the total vote by late Tuesday afternoon, with some poll results still to come, and the Greens had about 2.25 per cent.

In the 2021 federal election, the New Democrats earned 9.2 per cent of the popular vote on P.E.I., and the Greens placed even higher with 9.5 per cent. 

Anna Keenan, who ran for the Greens in Malpeque, finished third in the central P.E.I. riding with 1,020 votes. She trailed Liberal incumbent Heath MacDonald, who received 14,864 votes, and Conservative candidate Jamie Fox, who earned 9,639 votes.

"I think we could see this coming from the very start of the election campaign. It was a very strong strategic voting election," Keenan told CBC's Island Morning.

"I had hundreds of people tell me… 'I think you're the best candidate to represent the riding, but I'm not voting for you, and the reason is because I'm terrified of what a conservative Pierre Poilievre-led government would mean for Canada.' And the votes from [the Greens and NDP] all flowed very, very directly to the Liberals."

Joe Byrne, who ran for the NDP in Charlottetown, described a similar experience. He said voters were motivated by fear and uncertainty — not just of Poilievre, but also of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and threats to annex Canada as the 51st American state.

"These are polarizing times in a country that has been experiencing increasing polarization," Byrne said. 

"I had the same experience as Anna, people telling me, 'You did great, I want to vote for you, but I have to vote against Poilievre.'"

Late Monday night, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced he would be stepping down from the federal party's top job.

Singh not only finished third in his own riding of Burnaby Central, but his party was on track to lose more than two-thirds of its seats. The New Democrats will also lose official party status in the House of Commons, falling short of the 12-member minimum.

Byrne said he's already spoken to key stakeholders within the party.

"The critical piece on this is, you know, we have to keep working," he said.