P.E.I.'s new premier promises 'steady hand at the wheel' during transition
‘This is a transition for our party, not for government,’ says Premier Rob Lantz
Prince Edward Island's new premier is promising stability during the transition period and assuring Islanders that government work will continue uninterrupted as the province navigates key challenges.
Rob Lantz was sworn in on Friday, just a day after Dennis King's surprise resignation.
It's a position he had hoped to hold a decade ago but after losing his seat as an MLA in 2015, he stepped away from politics before returning in 2023. He served as Minister of Housing and Minister of Education in King's cabinet.
On Monday, his first full day as premier, Lantz said he met with senior government officials and assured them that the province's work would continue as usual and urged them to keep delivering on the government's mandate.
"I see myself as a steady hand at the wheel as we make this transition. And this is a transition period, but it's a transition for our party, not for government," he told CBC's Island Morning.
Tariff threats 'top priority'
Lantz said his immediate priority is addressing Donald Trump's looming tariff threats and their potential impact on P.E.I.'s key industries.
The U.S. President announced Monday that he will proceed with a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian imports next week.
Lantz said he received a full briefing on the issue Monday and will join a call with the prime minister and other premiers on Wednesday to discuss a response.
"I'm very anxious to get on board with Team Canada," he said. "We need to wrap our arms around that. I need to get up to speed."
With the legislature now prorogued until March 25, Lantz said the break will give his government time to realign priorities and prepare for the upcoming legislative session, especially in light of the tariff threats.
"We're still doing some analysis and measuring that impact, how we need to adjust our budget to have a cushion there to protect against the effects of those tariffs," he said.
Interim premier 'can't play the caretaker role'
Lantz said Islanders will soon hear more about his vision for the province when the legislature returns with a speech from the throne.
UPEI political scientist Don Desserud said he expects the speech to not only address new challenges like the tariffs but also long-standing issues such as health care, housing and drug overdoses.
Desserud noted that interim leaders typically act as caretakers, but given P.E.I.'s current challenges, the interim premier "has to be somebody who can, who will behave as if they were the premier that won an election, they can't play the caretaker role."
"I don't think Lantz is the kind of person that would want to simply be a caretaker. I think he's more action-oriented. I think we saw that in his portfolios," he said.
Leadership contest, byelections
Since taking office, Lantz has made it clear he does not intend to seek the permanent leadership of the Progressive Conservatives.
The PC party executive will soon form a leadership convention committee to establish rules, regulations and a timeline for the leadership race, he said.
"I want to guide the ship until we can get to that transition."
Meanwhile, two provincial byelections are also on the horizon.
One will be for former PC MLA Natalie Jameson's seat in District 9, Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park. Jameson resigned late last year to seek the Conservative nomination for the federal riding of Charlottetown. The other byelection will be for King's seat in District 15, Brackley-Hunter River.
Lantz said the party will need to carefully plan the timing of both the leadership contest and the byelections.
"We need to sequence those the best way not to bump into the federal election that's going to happen," he said.
With files from Island Morning and Julien Lecacheur