Malpeque

This rural riding in central Prince Edward Island contains parts of Queen's and Prince counties. Malpeque Bay forms part of the western boundary of the riding that surrounds Charlottetown. It includes Cornwall, Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico as well as the communities of Brackley, Miltonvale Park, Union Road, Warren Grove, Winsloe South, Rocky Point Indian Reserve No. 3 and the islands of St. Peters, Courtin, Little Courtin and Ram.

Industries include agriculture and the service sector, which is mainly tourism-based. Manufacturing plays a role, with Cavendish Foods and McCain Foods operating facilities in the riding. The average family income is $65,549 and the unemployment rate is 9.5 per cent.

In the 2006 census more than 96 per cent of the population cited English as their mother tongue. The immigrant population is only 3.4 per cent.

In 2004, about four per cent of the riding moved into the Charlottetown riding. Malpeque was established in 1966 from the former Queen's riding.

Population: 33,796 (2006 census; an increase of 2.2% since 2001)

Political History

Liberal Wayne Easter first entered politics in 1993, and Malpeque voters returned him for a fifth term in office in 2006, favouring him over Conservative George Noble.

Easter, who served as solictor general from October 2002 to December 2003, also beat the Conservatives in 2004, defeating Mary Crane.

Easter beat Conservative Jim Gorman in the 2000 election for his third win in this riding.

The former riding of Queen's elected two members until the redistribution of 1966 when the riding was divided into Hillsborough and Malpeque. One of those MPs, PC Heath MacQuarrie, served in Queen's from 1957 to 1965 and went on to represent Hillsborough in 1968, 1972 and 1974. He didn't run in 1979 and was appointed to the that year. PC Angus Maclean was the other MP in the 1951 to 1974 period, serving as minister of fisheries and postmaster general under John Diefenbaker. He later led the provincial PC party.

Liberal Don Wood won the 1977 byelection by 125 votes, but was defeated in 1979 by PC Mel Gass, who served three terms. Gass resigned to lead the provincial PCs. In 1988, Liberal Catherine Callbeck defeated PC Gordon Lank. Callbeck had previously been elected to the P.E.I. legislature. She resigned in 1993 after winning the leadership of the provincial Liberal party and became the first female premier in Canada after winning the provincial election that year.

Queen's:

• 1957-65 inclusive - PC

Malpeque:

• 1968-74 inclusive - PC
• 1977 byelection - LIB
• 1979-84 inclusive - PC
• Since 1988 - LIB