Meet the 5 people running federally in P.E.I.'s Charlottetown riding
CBC News spoke with the candidates asking for votes in P.E.I.'s most urban riding
With less than a month until Canadians head to the polls to vote in the federal election, candidates across P.E.I. are hitting the campaign trail in an effort to become — or remain — a member of Parliament. To make sense of who's running for which party and where, CBC P.E.I. spoke to the candidates running in each of the province's four ridings.
Up next is Charlottetown.
The province's most urban riding — which contains the City of Charlottetown and some outlying areas toward Winsloe, Brackley and Miltonvale Park — has been held by the Liberals for more than 30 years. Liberal MP Sean Casey has represented the people of Charlottetown for the last four terms.
Joe Byrne, New Democratic Party
Joe Byrne is no stranger to campaigning. The former leader of the provincial NDP previously ran in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 federal elections, as well as the 2023 and 2019 provincial elections.
Campaigning for the April 28 election, Byrne said he often tells voters: "If you want change, you have to vote for it. Voting for something that you don't want will not bring the change in that you want."
"As New Democrats, we have the courage actually to challenge the system and say that when a system doesn't work for regular residents of Charlottetown — for everybody — then it just doesn't work. So let's not be afraid to change it," he said.
An NDP government would make life more affordable for Islanders with two key policies, Byrne said.
First, it would introduce a basic guaranteed income.
"This has been vetted by some of the top economists in the country. It's possible, and it would bring in a piece of economic stability for a lot of people who are, right now, vulnerable," he said.
Second, an NDP government would regulate grocery store prices, which Byrne said have been running rampant since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The major grocery chains are gouging us because they can," he said.
Byrne said an NDP government would also invest in housing and health.
"We need publicly owned, publicly controlled housing to ensure that everybody gets decent housing. This is not a privilege, it's a right," he said, adding that building more homes is a top priority.
"We've relied on the private sector to provide safe, affordable, accessible housing for the last three decades. And the private sector has an important role to play, but it will not deliver that kind of housing."
When it comes to health-care concerns, Byrne said it's a "big, big picture," adding that getting federal funding to the provinces is key.
"We should trust provinces to be able to deliver health," he said, noting that performance indicators for health-care systems across the country should be specific to their location.
Good health care, housing and affordability are crucial to living in dignity, Byrne said.
"Never stay quiet, and never give up," he said.
Daniel Cousins, Green Party
In addition to campaigning and door-knocking, Daniel Cousins is wrapping up a Bachelor of Arts at UPEI.
While balancing the federal election with studying is "chaotic," Cousins said they love a challenge.
A young person, a student and a renter in Charlottetown, Cousins said they are tuned into some of the major issues in the riding.
"It gives me a different perspective," they said. "I'm very well versed in how much tuition is right now and what student loans are like."
Cousins said they hope to bring some of the issues affecting young people to the fore, and make sure people are aware of them.
"We need affordable child care, we need health care, we need dental care, we need food security, we need affordable homes, we need to be able to live somewhere and, if we want to have kids, not face the threat of eviction," Cousins said.
That said, tariffs are the main concern they've heard at the door.
Islanders are stepping up at the grocery store and buying Canadian, Cousins said.
"We're preparing for this and I think our economy will do better if we keep this momentum of buying Canadian and supporting local business," they said.
Another concern Cousins said voters have expressed is that environmental issues are "getting shoved to the side."
"I encourage people to think very hard about who they're electing, even if it's not me," Cousins said. "I understand there are people voting out of fear, and I don't want them to feel ashamed about that."
Cousins said they put their name in the running because they didn't want the Green Party to lose momentum that it's been building.
"This might not be my election, but my election might be in 2029… If it's a climate-change election, then who better than the person who's studying climate change?" they said.
With election date approaching, Cousins said they're looking forward to hearing more about other candidates' plans to tackle some of the big issues.
"I am hoping to see policies from the other federal parties because all I'm hearing so far are slogans. Slogans are great, but they're not actual policy. They're not actual plans."
Robert Lucas, People's Party of Canada
Robert Lucas is a first–time candidate for the People's Party of Canada. He describes himself as being "a young 82."
"Instead of putting my feet up in retirement, [I have decided] to come out and to help the people not only in Charlottetown but right across the country… to restore Canada," he said.
Here's how his entry on the PPC site describes him: "He is driven by a deep commitment to standing up for his community and defending the core values of freedom, personal responsibility, respect, and fairness."
The experience of campaigning has been a pleasant one, Lucas said, saying residents of the Charlottetown riding have opened up to him and expressed a variety of concerns.
Others have their minds made up on who they're voting for, and even though it may not be the PPC, they are friendly to him nonetheless, he said.
"That's what I like about freedom of choice," he said. "I'm standing up… putting myself forward to be the candidate of the alternative."
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and annexation talk, American tariffs against Canada and other countries, immigration, health care and the federal government's growing deficit are among the issues Lucas said he's hearing about when he talks to voters on the streets and at the doors around the riding.
"Major changes need to be made here in Canada," Lucas said, adding that the People's Party of Canada would do that by tackling one issue at a time.
"We have to address the financial aspect sooner than later, and our leader Maxime Bernier is the only leader that is professing to — and showing how — the deficit can be positively addressed and eliminated," he said, noting that the People's Party of Canada is committed to delivering a balanced budget year after year if it forms the next federal government.
The party is also focused on reducing the number of newcomers to Canada, Lucas said.
"The primary aim of Canada's immigration policy should be to economically benefit Canadians and Canada as a whole, the party says on its website. "It should not be used to forcibly change the cultural character and social fabric of our country."
Sean Casey, Liberal Party
The April 28 election will be the fifth for incumbent Sean Casey. But this election has a different energy, he said.
"Never before has the voter engagement been so high so early," he said. "People are completely dialled in and they have been for weeks."
That engagement is tied to the Liberal Party's change in leadership this winter, Casey said.
"The continued presence of Justin Trudeau was something that was a major preoccupation for people in Charlottetown. That's why I raised it," said Casey, one of the first Liberal MPs to urge the former prime minister to resign.
As the tariff crisis continues, Mark Carney's leadership is being well-received by Charlottetown voters, Casey said.
"Carney has the temperament, the depth and the experience to guide us through this, whereas someone who spent his entire professional life on Parliament Hill doesn't," he said.
"The ballot question is clearly who can best manage the relationship with the United States. And I have a bunch of people that are saying to me, 'That person is Carney' — but I have just as many that are saying, 'That person is not Poilievre.'"
While the Canada-U.S. relationship is an important issue, it's not the only one, Casey said: "The perennial issues are health care, affordability… housing."
Casey said a Liberal government would continue working on those with its provincial counterpart, now led by Rob Lantz.
"Our relationship with the provincial government under Dennis King [was] exemplary. Dennis King and the government of P.E.I. have been very good partners on all federal-provincial matters," he said.
"Even though a change at the head of the Liberal Party of Canada has changed the water on the beans, I don't think it will with the change to the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I."
After four terms in federal office, Casey said he remains driven.
"It's the honour of my life to be able to serve my neighbours.
"I see myself as the voice of Charlottetown in Ottawa, and not the opposite. And that's why I have from time to time taken positions against my party and criticized my own party. The people of Charlottetown deserve that."
Natalie Jameson, Conservative Party
Natalie Jameson made the jump from provincial to federal politics after six years as an MLA for Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park.
She said the decision came after many sleepless nights and family discussions.
"We never want to look back in life with regret," the former provincial education minister said.
"I felt that there was a strong sentiment of change within the community and I felt — to be honest — a bit of a hypocrite if I didn't do it because I've been trying to encourage women over the last number of years to get involved in politics."
Jameson said when the opportunity arose to run federally, many people encouraged her.
"I know that I'm a person that cares deeply about our community and our province and our country, and I want to make a difference for the next generation."
To do that, affordability is a key piece, Jameson said.
"I want to make people's lives better, and as an MP there's ways… to actually improve the lives of Islanders and Canadians," she said.
"We've just seen inflation rise so dramatically over these last number of years and I want to be part of getting it back under control and ensuring that people have what they need to meet their needs and meet their family's needs."
One of the strengths Jameson said she would bring to the MP's role is a strong relationship with the provincial cabinet and caucus, having worked with them for the last six years.
"I know what some of the challenges are, I know what some of the solutions are and I'm ready and willing to collaborate and partner with the provincial government on addressing those concerns," she said, noting her involvement in provincial health-care developments related to the school of medicine and the physician agreement covering how doctors are treated and compensated for their work.
"I'll continue that work and that collaboration if elected, and ultimately we all have common goals and that's serving the needs of Islanders."
A Conservative government would be focused on building homes, supporting tradespeople, axing GST on new homes and rolling out a blue seal program in collaboration with the provinces and territories, Jameson said.
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With files from Cody MacKay