CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Former health minister Doug Currie is entering the political arena again.
Currie, a former provincial minister of health during the Robert Ghiz and Wade MacLauchlan Liberal governments, has submitted an application to be the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in Charlottetown. It has been widely speculated that there could be a federal election sometime in the spring.
The deadline for receiving an application at the party’s Ottawa headquarters closes on Thursday at 5 p.m. As of Tuesday, Charlottetown Electoral District Association President Ron Profit said he was not aware of any other possible nominee who has submitted an application.
"To the best of my knowledge, it's just Doug. Unless there's somebody out there I'm not aware of at all," Profit told The Guardian. “If he's the only candidate at the time, then he's just acclaimed."
Reached by phone, Currie confirmed he had submitted an application. But he declined to discuss further details about his reasons for running for the Conservatives after a political career as a provincial Liberal.
“It's a pretty extensive process, and I've been respecting the process right from the get-go," Currie said
The Conservative Party would have to approve Currie's application before he would be able to stand for nomination.
The Charlottetown district is generally seen as a safe Liberal seat. Sean Casey has been the sitting Member of Parliament for almost a decade. Prior to him, the last Conservative to occupy the seat was Tom MacMillan, who served between 1979 and 1988.
Paul MacNeill, publisher of the Eastern Graphic, believes that Currie, whose family members are Tory supporters, has already established a strong ground game.
"I think a few things have to fall into Doug Currie's favour to have a chance. The first thing is there are a lot of Liberals (who are) peeved at Sean Casey,” MacNeill said.
MacNeill said Casey is viewed as an effective MP but does not generate the loyalty of other long time Liberal stalwarts in P.E.I.
“He’s a really smart guy, but he’s never given anyone the warm and fuzzies,” MacNeill said.
"The flipside is that Doug is now representing the party that is seen by the majority of Islanders, federally, as being hard right."
Since the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a right-wing mob on Jan. 6, many on social media have drawn parallels between the federal Conservatives and Donald Trump.
On Sunday, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole issued a statement that chastised the federal Liberals for portraying his party as “far right”. O’Toole also said he was pro-choice, concerned about income inequality and has spoken out against the ban on blood donations from gay men.
"You only do that if you know you've got a problem in-house," MacNeill said of the statement.
In his campaign for Conservative leader, O’Toole pledged to cut funding for CBC news and TV by 50 per cent. His win was partly attributed to support he received amongst social conservatives, including anti-abortion advocates.
The district of Malpeque will also face a deadline for candidate applications on Thursday.
So far, two candidates – Renée Pastoor and Jody Sanderson - have submitted applications to run as candidates in that district.
Sanderson returned to P.E.I. in 2019 after working with HSBC bank in Canada, Asia and the Middle East. He currently lives with his wife and two children on the York Point Rd. Sanderson is active in the harness racing community and is a competitive triathlete.
Pastoor ran for the Conservative nomination in Malpeque prior to the last election but was bested by candidate Stephen Stewart. She was involved in dairy farming up until two years ago. She is the mother of six boys and is also chair of the Wheatley River Improvement Group.
A nomination vote is planned in Malpeque in February. Melvin Crane, the president of the Conservative Electoral District Association of Malpeque said the party plans to hold in-person voting from members.
Plans are in the works to have in-person voting at two locations in Malpeque on the day of the nomination, Crane said.
By the numbers election results 2019:
Charlottetown:
- Sean Casey, Liberal: 8,509
- Darcie Lanthier, Green: 4,458
- Robert Campbell, Conservative: 3,924
- Joe Byrne, NDP: 2,193
Malpeque:
- Wayne Easter, Liberal: 9,533
- Anna Keenan, Green: 6,103
- Scott Stewart, Conservative: 5,899
- Craig Nash, NDP: 1,495
Stu Neatby is The Guardian's political reporter.
