Premier Pat Binns has earned a place in modern political history, winning three straight majority governments, giving up just four of 27 seats to the Liberals under upstart leader Robert Ghiz.

Complete election coverage: cbc.ca/peivotes2003

Despite the hurricane that knocked out power to tens of thousands of households and forced many voters to cast their ballots by candlelight, 83 per cent of eligible voters turned up at polling stations. That's down just three percentage points from 2000, and on par with previous elections.

Tory supporters carried 54-year-old Binns into party headquarters, where he was greeted with warm hugs and by an elderly woman who grabbed him on his way to the podium for a victory dance.

"This is indeed a historic night. That's three wins in a row for the PC party of P.E.I.," Binns told a cheering crowd at his district headquarters in Murray River. "This happened because we had great support and a terrific campaign organization right across the province."

Liberal Leader Robert Ghiz helped increase his party's share of the vote by 8.6 per cent, and says hard work made it happen. "We knew the Tories were throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. But you did it," the 29-year-old leader told party supporters, who celebrated in a former bank in downtown Charlottetown.

The newly minted leader, who was elected to the top job of the provincial party last April, also had a message for the government: "We're going to be there to hold you accountable for the next four years."

Binns says he's not intimidated by a stronger Opposition, and looks forward to hearing from the Liberals. "We look forward to their input and their suggestions and just because they're the Opposition and we're the government doesn't mean we can't work together," he says. "Our sole goal here is to make Prince Edward Island the best place to live and we will work very hard at that."

Tories celebrated the victory at party headquarters, relieved they had met their goal so quickly on election night.

Party strategist Darren Peters says the easy win is a vote of confidence in the leader. "We've worked hard over the past six and a half years to provide good, solid responsible government to the province of Prince Edward Island and I feel that we've done that."

Binns promises to hire more nurses and teachers, saying the province can compete for the best talent the country has to offer. "We'll take a backseat to nobody," he says.

The party has not accomplished three straight wins since 1865.

The Tories have captured 54 per cent of the popular vote, down 3.6 per cent from their standing in the last election. That loss bled over to the Liberal Party, which increased its vote share by 8.8 per cent over the 2000 general election to 42.8 per cent. The NDP had 3.2 per cent.

Tory candidates George MacDonald, Bobby MacMillan and Norman MacPhee lost their seats to rookie Liberals. Progressive Conservative candidate Donna Butler also couldn't beat longtime Liberal Ron MacKinley.

The win seals Binns' career as one of the most popular premiers in the country. Binns has promised this will be his last election, so Tory strategists are already looking around the party for the person who can take over the controls.