This is from the Charlottetown Guardian. From earlier statements I thought this was supposed to be a close race but the Conservatives only retained four of twenty seven seats! However, parties usually win by large majorities in PEI when they do win. This was the Liberal leader's second try.
Robert Ghiz wins P.E.I. election, ending 11-year run by Pat Binns 16
BY CHRIS MORRIS
The Guardian
CHARLOTTETOWN (CP) - Fourteen years after his father left office, Robert Ghiz has followed his career path into the premier's chair in Prince Edward Island.
Ghiz, 33, easily defeated Conservative Premier Pat Binns, who had been seeking a fourth term as Canada's longest-serving premier.
The Liberals, who entered the month-long campaign with just four seats in the 27-seat legislature, led in ridings across the province as Island voters heeded Ghiz's call for political change.
Ghiz's late father, Joe Ghiz, was Liberal premier from 1986 to 1993. He died of cancer in 1996.
P.E.I. Liberal Leader Robert Ghiz watches the election outcome on television with his wife Kate Ellis Ghiz in his mother's house Monday in Charlottetown. (CP PHOTO/Jacques Boissinet
The younger Ghiz's win marks the second time a son has followed his father into the premier's office in Canada's smallest province. The first two were Thane Campbell and his son, Alex Cambell.
Binns entered the election with 23 seats but saw that total dwindle as a number of his cabinet ministers fell to defeat, including Health Minister Chester Gillan.
Ghiz told Islanders during an uneventful campaign that the time was right for political change, promising he could deliver a younger, more energetic administration.
Ghiz was elected in his riding of Charlottetown-Brighton while Binns held a comfortable lead in Belfast-Murray River.
Binns, 58, called the election with the pledge to continue a legacy built on job creation and steady economic growth.
While P.E.I. politics has long been dominated by the Tories and Liberals, the NDP under Leader Dean Constable, and the Green party under Sharon Labchuk, fought to keep their issues of social justice and environmental responsibility front and centre. They did not make any serious gains in the popular vote and were not in position to pick up any seats.
There were no major surprises during the campaign, although Binns was more aggressive than usual as he defended his administration against a strong attack by the Liberals.
By the end of the campaign, Binns sounded tired as he thanked supporters at a large Charlottetown rally.
"Most of you know I came from away," said Binns, who was born and raised in Saskatchewan.
"I found two loves of my life here on P.E.I. My wonderful partner and wife, Carol, and secondly, I fell in love with this very special place - a piece of God's creation. Islanders have welcomed me into this great community as if I was born here."
Binns admitted the campaign was tough. He said no government can serve 11 years without accumulating some political baggage.
He made it clear that, if elected, he would serve a full term in office but that it would be his last.
"I'm proud of our record," Binns said. "We have moved the Island a long way in 10 years."
This was the second election campaign for Ghiz, chosen leader of the Liberals in 2003.
Many observers believed Ghiz was under pressure to improve Liberal fortunes, or face an early end to his career in provincial politics.
Ghiz seized on the theme of change, promising lower taxes, better health care and a new approach to government.
Patronage is part of the political fabric on the Island, and while Ghiz did not promise to eliminate it, he hinted it would be less important in a Liberal administration.
"It's time we had a government that puts good public policy ahead of politics," he said, adding he would consider a "thorough reconstruction" of how the provincial government works.
Close to 98,000 people were eligible to vote on the Island of 137,000.
Voter turnout was heavy throughout Monday, despite grey skies and the occasional downpour.
Interest in the election was heightened by the fact that for the first time in years, no one was sure who would win.
Previous provincial elections were generally a cakewalk for the genial Binns, a bean farmer from Murray River, P.E.I.
"For Islanders, politics is a bloodsport," said political commentator Ian Dowbiggin, a history professor at the University of Prince Edward Island.
"There is a certain intimacy about P.E.I. provincial politics that is unmatched anywhere else in Canada."
Dowbiggin said that for many Islanders, the choice on election day ultimately boiled down to which one of the leaders they preferred.
He said the choice was between Binns's affability and experience and Ghiz's youth and energy.
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