1966 Prince Edward Island general election
May 30, 1966 (11 July 1966)
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All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 17 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Seats won by each party per district. Voters elect two members (one Councillor and Assemblyman) from each of the 16 districts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1966 Prince Edward Island general election was held on May 30, 1966.
The election in the riding of 1st Kings was delayed until July 11, 1966 due to the death of Liberal Assemblyman and candidate William Acorn. As it turned out, other ridings elected a total of 15 Liberals and 15 Progressive Conservatives, and the riding of 1st Kings would by itself decide the general election.
The Progressive Conservative government of 1958-1962 had attempted to ensure its re-election by rejigging the electoral map in the Queen's County and also working to win 1st Kings by unusual methods such as naming one of the PC candidates (Keith Mackenzie) as Minister of Transports, and paving 45 kilometres of road in the district. At the time, a reporter from the Charlottetown Guardian commented on how "the riding may well sink under the weight of the [paving] machines". The strategy failed as both Liberal candidates in 1st Kings ultimately won.
The Progressive Conservative government also split the 5th Queens district into two districts. The government broke with the tradition of each county having five ridings and ten members. By splitting 5th Queens, it gave the city of Charlottetown two ridings and therefore four members and gave Queen's County a sixth district and 12 members. This was the single biggest change to the map since 1893 when the ridings were devised. In that time population shifts had made some changes needed, as Charlottetown's population was more than five times that of some of the more rural ridings. The Progressive Conservatives had hoped that traditionally Progressive Conservative Charlottetown would vote in two additional Progressive Conservative members to the legislature; on election day the new riding elected two Progressive Conservatives, but the now modified old riding (Fifth Queen's) elected two Liberals.
The government's twin defeats in 1st Kings and 5th Queen's gave the Liberals a 17 to 15 majority and enabled Liberal leader Alex Campbell to become Premier.