PEIWith Prince Edward Island’s Liberal Party set to elect a new leader early next month, the two candidates are meeting with Islanders through a series of forums.‘Liberals haven’t been this excited in a long time,’ says convention co-chairThinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Sep 10, 2025 9:31 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoThe two candidates for the leadership of P.E.I.’s Liberal Party are holding a series of forums in September to connect with members and answer questions. (P.E.I. Liberals/Facebook)With Prince Edward Island’s Liberal Party set to elect a new leader early next month, the two candidates are meeting with Islanders through a series of forums.Entrepreneur Todd Cormier and former MLA Robert Mitchell are the two candidates vying for the role. The leadership convention will be held Oct. 4 at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown, with advance polling taking place throughout September.”These leadership forums that are coming up give them another four chances to connect in person with a wide range of members, and to be able to talk with them one on one,” said Matthew Murphy, co-chair of the convention.The first forum takes place Wednesday at St. Anthony’s Parish Hall in Bloomfield from 6:30 to 8 p.m.The remaining forums, all running from 6:30 to 8 p.m., are scheduled as follows: Sept. 11 – Albany Community Centre. Sept. 17 – Montague Curling Club. Sept. 18 – North River Fire Hall. MacKenzie Cutcliffe, a convention co-chair, said the forums will feature prepared questions with themes tailored to each region, followed by an open floor for audience questions.’Excitement on the ground’The Liberals have been without a permanent leader since Sharon Cameron failed to win a seat in the 2023 provincial election. MLA Hal Perry has been the interim leader.The governing Progressive Conservatives are also without a permanent leader. Rob Lantz took over as interim leader, and thus as premier, after Dennis King’s sudden resignation earlier this year, and no date has been set for the party’s leadership vote.The Green Party of P.E.I. recently chose MLA Matt MacFarlane as its permanent leader, replacing interim leader Karla Bernard.WATCH | 2 candidates are now locked in as P.E.I. Liberal leadership race officially gets underway: 2 candidates are now locked in as P.E.I. Liberal leadership race officially gets underwayThe competition to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island has begun, with two candidates having put their names forward by a July 4 deadline. CBC’s Cody MacKay met up with Robert Mitchell and Todd Cormier to ask about their vision for the party in the years ahead.Meanwhile, the leader of the province’s New Democratic Party, Michelle Neill, announced she will step down on Oct. 25.With the Liberal convention approaching, Murphy described it as a milestone for party members. It is the first contested leadership convention since 2003, when Robert Ghiz defeated Alan Buchanan.”I’m hearing a lot of excitement on the ground,” Murphy said. “Liberals haven’t been this excited in a long time.”Ready for an electionWith the governing PCs preparing to elect a new leader and the possibility of a snap provincial election, Cutcliffe said the Liberals are ready. Over the past year, significant work has gone into revitalizing the party.”We’ve been hard at work rebuilding the P.E.I. Liberal Party from the ground up,” she said. “Really, we’ve been working at reactivating all 27 of our district associations, growing our membership and expanding our fundraising capacity.” Should an election be called, Cutcliffe said the party is well positioned to field candidates, especially given recent byelection results.”We’ve seen thousands of new Liberal Party memberships in the last little while,” she said. “In terms of finding candidates, we’re in a good place.”With files from Island Morning
P.E.I. Liberals gearing up for leadership contest by holding forums across the province
