P.E.I. government extends municipal election deadline for 18 communities

Eighteen P.E.I. municipalities were not able to field enough candidates by the nomination deadline for the Nov. 2 election.

Because of that, the P.E.I. government has extended the deadline to 2 p.m. on Oct. 23 to file nomination papers, giving prospective candidates an extra week to jump into the race for mayor or councillor.

The original deadline was Friday, Oct. 16.

Elections P.E.I. handles municipal elections in Summerside, Charlottetown, Cornwall, Stratford and Three Rivers, but it is up to rural municipalities to administer their votes in the other 52 communities.

Four of the municipalities – Clyde River, Crapaud, Souris West and York – still need a mayor to run and do not have enough council spots filled.

Margaret Armsworthy, chief administrative officer (CAO) in Crapaud, did not say who had filed nomination papers because the deadline has been extended.

Armsworthy would only say “we would need a mayor and additional councillors”.

She did say if the rural municipality had six councillors on the ballot it could just acclaim them, but that it did not reach that threshold.

“Just because people put their names forward doesn’t mean they can’t take it back,” Armsworthy said. “Nothing is official yet.”

Armsworthy said she does not understand why people “aren’t banging down the door to put in a nomination form”, but she does have a theory.

“I think in small municipalities it is not fun (to be in politics) because at the municipal level we are the most accessible level of government for residents, so we get it from our neighbours (and) from various residents,” Armsworthy said.

“We’re the lowest form of government and most in touch with the people. So, we are definitely hearing things on a regular basis.”

Armsworthy points to the situation in Three Rivers with the controversy around Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) and Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI).

“A lot of those decisions were not Three Rivers decisions, but they are the closest level of government that the public has, and it does make it tough and challenging to find councillors when people are so easily accessible.”

Armsworthy said if Crapaud does not have enough people come Oct. 23, the minister of housing and communities may have to step in and appoint people.

Many small municipalities are facing the same situation as Crapaud, including Souris West, which posted on its Facebook page that three people had filed nomination papers with the intention of running for councillor.

That left three vacancies. In addition, no one filed papers for the mayor’s position.

“If after the close of extended nominations, the Souris West municipality doesn’t have at least four council members (minimum required to run council) and the existing council doesn’t have any appointees, then a trustee could be put in place,” the Facebook post reads. “A trustee is appointed by the province to run the municipality until a byelection can be called.”

The rural municipality noted that a trustee is paid for by the municipality and it is costly.

York is another of the communities that did not have enough candidates and required an extension.

Tina Vessey is managing the election in York and said she thinks things are going to work out.

“I think we have a nomination coming in for mayor in the next day or so,” said Vessey, who also manages the community centre. “I was just talking to somebody. Things are looking better this week.”

When Vessey spoke with The Guardian this week, she said the community was not quite there yet in terms of filling the council spots but was getting closer.

“We definitely didn’t want to go that route in having someone appointed. I think we’re going to be OK. I’m positively optimistic.”

Vessey said the mayor decided not to run again making it difficult to find someone new.

In an email to The Guardian on Oct. 20, a spokesperson with the Department of Housing and Communities said under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities must extend the nomination period by seven days if there are not enough candidates to fill all available mayoral and council positions by the close of nominations.

“If vacancies remain after the nomination period has been extend, through a council resolution, a municipality can request the minister to appoint eligible individuals to fill vacancies or allow the council to continue operating with fewer members if it can still function effectively,” the spokesperson said.

“Depending on the circumstances, vacancies may also bee filled through a subsequent byelection.”

Following are the communities that have extended the deadline to file nomination papers for the Nov. 2 municipal election and what the total populations are of each of the communities:

• Clyde River: 614.
• Crapaud: 2,473.
• Souris West: 379.
• York: 387.

• Brackley: 586.
• Eastern Kings: 687.

• Abram-Village: 340.
• Annandale-Little Pond-Howe Bay: 223.
• Bedeque and area: 311.
• Breadalbane: 170.
• Hunter River: 390.
• Linkletter: 315.
• Miminegash: 1,237.
• Miscouche: 1,841.
• Murray River: 3,015.
• O’Leary: 3,442.
• Union Road: 213.
• Warren Grove: 374.

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Dave Stewart is a reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at dstewart@postmedia.com and followed on X at @DveStewart.