Egmont

I cannot help but say I am disappointed that Bobby Morrissey dropped out as the Liberal candidate in Egmont when Morrissey was such a good candidate and Egmont is such a winnable riding – currently held by the Liberals. Morrissey had defeated former PEI Premier Keith Milligan for the nomination. I do not know whether Milligan will now try for the nomination again. Morrissey was a strong candidate and most likely could have held the seat. His Conservative opponent would have been Gail Shea, a former PEI Tory MLA. She lost her seat in the last PEI election when the provincial Liberals swept the Island. I’ve heard however that now the PEI Liberal government is unpopular in rural PEI. But I have not been able to ascertain why. Supposedly the unpopularity of the PEI Liberal government in rural PEI would catapult Shea to victory. Supposedly strong opposition to Dion’s Green Shift would catapult Shea to victory in Egmont and catapult many other Tory candidates to victory in several Liberal ridings in Atlantic Canada. I do not want to believe this. The Tories claim that Morrissey quit because he thought he would not win the riding due to Dion’s Green Shift. The Liberals deny this and Morrissey denies this. Morrissey is supposed to have found a very promising job in the private sector that made him quit his candidacy. I do not fully understand why he could not have taken this job, then waited for the election and then run. Personally for me, being a Member of Parliament is a much more desirable job than even the most highly paid private sector job. Egmont stayed Liberal in 1984, though it went Tory with David MacDonald (very Red Tory) in the election 1968 through to and including 1979. Liberal George Henderson won it by a wide margin in 1980 and retained it by 918 votes (5% of the vote) in 1984 over the Tories. Joe McGuire won it for the Liberals in 1988 and he has held it ever since. Sadly McGuire announced that he would not run in the next election and that is where we are at now. It is ironic that a seat that stayed Liberal in 1984 is now considered the most winnable riding for the Tories in PEI. There was also a Liberal candidate who just dropped out in the riding of Palliser. However this is not as big a deal as Palliser is not a winnable riding for the Liberals – the Liberals always come in third in Palliser. However, the Liberals need to find a new candidate in Palliser and in Egmont so that the party can be ready when the time comes for an election.