Government and Politics
The provincial government is responsible for such areas as health and social services, education, economic development, labour legislation and civil law. These matters of government are carried out in the provincial capital, Charlottetown.
Prince Edward Island is governed by a parliamentary government within the construct of constitutional monarchy; the monarchy in Prince Edward Island is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, who also serves as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries, each of Canada's nine other provinces, and the Canadian federal realm, and resides predominantly in the United Kingdom. As such, the Queen's representative, the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (presently Harry Frank Lewis), carries out most of the royal duties in Prince Edward Island.
The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in any of these areas of governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Executive Council, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the unicameral, elected Legislative Assembly and chosen and headed by the Premier of Prince Edward Island (presently Robert Ghiz), the head of government. To ensure the stability of government, the lieutenant governor will usually appoint as premier the person who is usually the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the Legislative Assembly. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (presently Olive Crane) and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.
Each of the 48 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district. General elections are called by the lieutenant governor on the first Monday in October four years after the previous election, or may be called, on the advice of the premier, should the government lose a confidence vote in the legislature. Traditionally, politics in the province have been dominated by both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party.
The Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI is the tribal council and provincial territorial organization in the province that represents both the Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations.
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