Peter Bevan-Baker says Greens have 'clear vision' and proven track record to govern
'We have the strongest slate of candidates, I would argue, we have the strongest platform'
This is the second in a series of profiles of P.E.I. provincial party leaders this week, heading into advance polls that start March 25. Regular voting day is April 3.
Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker isn't playing into the "fight" that Liberal Leader Sharon Cameron is picking in his home district.
Politics shouldn't be about that, he says.
"She wants a fight, is how she put it, and I've never been interested of fighting in politics," he told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin in his year-end interview in December.
"I want to find good solutions, but I'm not interested in fighting with people. And if that's her motivation, then I find that a little disappointing."
In a move that shocked political observers on P.E.I., Cameron announced in mid-December that she'd be running against Bevan-Baker to be the MLA for District 17: New Haven-Rocky Point.
While he's not looking to spar with Cameron, Bevan-Baker did throw a bit of shade at her politicking. He told Martin his district is beautiful, with great people living in it, and he "shouldn't be too surprised that Sharon wants to come visit for a few weeks" once the election was called.
Fast forward to March 2023, in a quaint little restaurant just off the campaign trail. It's a strategy Bevan-Baker still can't wrap his head around.
We've passed more pieces of legislation than any other Official Opposition in the history of this province by a mile.— Peter Bevan-Baker
"I have no idea what the strategic thinking behind that was," he said. "That hasn't changed at all the way that I'm approaching this election locally."
How he approaches the election, at least on the surface, isn't any different than it had been for decades: with a district-first mindset and a pair of boots on the ground.
Who is Peter Bevan-Baker?
Bevan-Baker's rise to Opposition leader and head of the Green Party of Prince Edward Island is the result of many attempts at office. In his own words, it's been "a long and winding road."
After the former dentist was unsuccessful in more than 20 years' worth of elections, determination paid off in 2015 as he was elected to the provincial legislature.
He was the lone Green in a sea of blue and red.
Plank by plank, he and the party built their ship on ideals different than the status quo, championing values like electoral reform, political collaboration and environmentalism. A sign on his desk in the basement of the George Coles building captured his philosophy: "Gentle pressure, relentlessly applied."
In 2017, Bevan-Baker was joined in the legislature by Green MLA Hannah Bell. They built the party to eventually win eight seats and achieve Official Opposition status in the 2019 election.
A Green Party Opposition wasn't just a first for P.E.I.; it was a first for Canada — an achievement that drew the eyes of party supporters across the country.
The question now is: What will happen on April 3?
The state of the Green Party in 2023
After fielding a full slate of candidates in 2019, the Greens didn't manage to repeat that feat this month. They're just shy with 25 out of 27 candidates, and had hopefuls filing right down to the wire of the March 17 registration deadline for Elections P.E.I.
And Bell, the party's most experienced MLA after Bevan-Baker, is not reoffering.
The Greens were not surprised when then-premier Dennis King visited the lieutenant-governor to trigger a snap election this spring, rather than wait for the Oct. 2 fixed election date, but the timing was still jarring. Bevan-Baker said the sudden call was compounded by the fact that it's become harder to attract people to run for any political office in recent years.
"We've seen people — very established people locally, nationally and internationally — say: 'I don't want to do this anymore' for very legitimate reasons," he said.
"Part of the problem is that politics aren't for everyone … The general cruelty and ugliness that can be associated with politics everywhere is another part of it."
We've passed more pieces of legislation than any other Official Opposition in the history of this province by a mile, and I think we've also held the government's feet to the fire in a very effective way.— Peter Bevan-Baker
He thinks people read too much into the absence of a full slate, and can overlook the quality of the 25 candidates they have on offer.
"We have a clear vision of where we would like this province to go. We have been able to develop clear plans to accomplish that vision and we've been able to execute it," he said.
"Even in Opposition, we've passed more pieces of legislation than any other Official Opposition in the history of this province by a mile, and I think we've also held the government's feet to the fire in a very effective way."
'Good people and good ideas'
Overwhelmingly, Green candidates are hearing from voters that health care is the foremost issue on Prince Edward Island. Every door brings a new story about why, Bevan-Baker said, and the Greens think they have the right plan to address the concerns.
One of the first steps for an elected Green government would be to give more power to Health P.E.I. to make the decisions necessary to overhaul the health-care system, the leader said.
Bevan-Baker said he'd begin by reversing legislation the Liberals passed in 2018 that removed Health P.E.I.'s power to determine strategic direction and gave that role to the minister of health.
After that legislation passed, the entire Health P.E.I. board resigned in protest. And stories of friction continue to emerge.
"The reds and the blues are bound and determined to maintain a system that allows them to make decisions for political gain rather than for the welfare of the whole system," he said of the Liberals and PCs. "That's a real disservice to Islanders."
With polling numbers showing the PCs firmly ahead, there has been talk about this election being about the race for 2nd place between the Liberals and Greens. Bevan-Baker doesn't believe it.
His goal, as always, is to form government.
"Good people and good ideas can win elections … I think [voters] aren't ready for another four years of a bumbling, backtracking, big-blue-bus-riding beach-blocking bunch of blowhards. I just don't think people want that anymore.
"I think they want a government that looks like them and sounds like them."
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With files from Mitch Cormier