Northumberland Strait. Firefighters, police and a volunteer ground search team were dispatched and found the pair in the water near their over- turned canoe. Both, wearing floatation devices, were declared dead at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. A Green party official confirmed the horrific news on Saturday that Josh Underhay and his young son had died in that accident on Friday after- noon. Underhay, a married father of two boys, was the Greens’ candidate in District 9, Charlotte- town-Hillsborough Park. Underhay was a teacher at Birchwood Intermediate School. He was a gifted musician who had a keen interest in linguis- tics speaking English, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Czech. Green party Leader Peter Bevan-Bak- er issued a statement that he was overcome with grief when he learned of their deaths. “Josh has been a dear friend and colleague of mine for many years, as a volunteer, musician, passionate cycling advocate and Green party supporter,” Bevan-Baker said, “I simply cannot imagine how much (Underhay) will be missed.” He immediately suspended all Green Party cam- paigning for the election. The other parties sus- pended their campaign activity for the day on
Sunday. The government quickly announced that the riding of District 9, Charlottetown-Hillsbor- ough Park would not be included in the April 23rd election. Elections Prince Edward Island stated a by-election would be held at a later date. As the election results began rolling in on Tuesday viewers saw that clearly the polls were discernibly off. It was evident that the Liberals three term reign was over along with their sixteen-seat majority. The Progressive Conservative Party led by Denis King went out front and stayed there. It would not be a break-through of national notoriety for the Green Party. The Liberals sadly had to swallow the veracity their party was headed for irrelevance, and the New Democrats watched hoping that they would not be completely shutout. When the night was done, Prince Edward Island voters elected a Progressive Conservative minority government. It was the first PC win since 2003 and ended the Liberals’ grip on power. Heading into the vote, Wade MacLauchlan’s team had a majority government with 16 seats. The PC’s, led by Dennis King held 8 seats. Peter Bevan-Baker’s Green Party held two seats. An independent member laid claim to the remaining seat.
Islanders show solid Green Party support in PC minority win
issues plaguing the party for years surely victory was close. The party also worked hard on their platform choosing planks to downplay their past reputation as environmental extremists. This helped attract a very qualified field of candidates that further enhanced the believability of the party in the election. Across Canada the Greens have struggled to build a winning combination which has held the party back but something different was happening in P.E.I. The media started to pay close attention to what might be a ground-break- ing election. Everything came to a sudden stop on Friday April 19th. Word spread quickly late in the day that a tragedy had struck the Green Party family. The RCMP issued a statement the next morning detail- ing that two canoeists were reported missing Friday. The two did not arrive at an agreed pick-up point along the Hillsborough River. The river cuts through the middle of the island and eventually makes its way to Charlottetown where it meets the
By Jamie Barrie I slanders were knocking on doors, calling sup- porters and hammering in lawn signs furious- ly preparing for their election. The polls were predicting unprecedented results. Long time Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were in full panic mode that their reign over Prince Edward Island politics may come to an end. Would they lose power in what would be considered the most obstinate default possible? As they watched the polls flip between a majority to a minority for the Green Party their thoughts were of disbelief. Would P.E.I. elect the first Green government and help authenticate the party in Canadian politics? The chances were good that the Greens would govern P.E.I. according to the polls. At the very least, they stood a solid chance at being the official opposition. Now led by a very charis- matic man who helped overcome the credibility
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JUNE 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2019
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