PEIThe P.E.I. Greens are urging government to expropriate the Evergreen Village property in Summerside in order to help the neighbourhood’s residents who fear the loss of their homes.’These families shouldn’t be put through this wringer any longer than they’ve been,’ says Green LeaderCody MacKay · CBC News · Posted: Nov 21, 2025 9:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Residents of the Evergreen Village mobile home park have received eviction notices for the second time, and have previously described the situation as an ’emotional gut punch.’ (CBC)The P.E.I. Greens are urging government to expropriate the Evergreen Village property in Summerside in order to help the neighbourhood’s residents who fear the loss of their homes.In question period Thursday, Green Leader Matt MacFarlane asked Housing Minister Cory Deagle whether government would expropriate the Summerside mobile home park, considering negotiations to purchase it have allegedly fallen apart.Deagle said it’s not that simple.”I can’t just go into a privately-owned park and fix all of these things,” he said to MacFarlane. “You could imagine who I would have coming to me looking to do this right across the Island. The owner is responsible for upkeeping this. I know the residents have appealed to IRAC. I hope that they’re successful because we don’t want to see anyone lose their home. “MacFarlane disagreed with the notion that Deagle can’t just “fix” everything.”Expropriation is an option for this property to give these people the peace of mind,” he said. “You can expropriate at fair market value so you don’t have to pay the millions of dollars that you’re referring to.”Expropriation a ‘very, very last resort’The residents of the mobile home park received eviction notices for the second time now, and have previously described the situation as an “emotional gut punch.”There are about 57 families in the community, which is owned by landlord Clifford McQuaid. The private land has a private water system and privately maintained roads, separate from the City of Summerside. Residents first learned that McQuaid planned to sell the land last year. It’s not a precedent that we want to set.- Cory Deagle, Minister of HousingMcQuaid previously told CBC News that the park is no longer financially viable due to rising expenses and rents that aren’t covering his costs.After question period, Deagle told reporters government has been trying to help negotiate a purchase of the property to an unnamed third-party he called a “community organization.” Expropriation is an option, but not one he wants to do, he said.”Expropriation would be a very, very last resort. I guess I can say that everything is always on the table, however that would also involve government owning the trailer park at the end of the day,” Deagle told CBC News.”What we have is a landlord who’s holding government hostage, saying ‘I have 57 families I am going to evict if you don’t give me the money that I want for my trailer park’… That is not how we operate. We can’t have landlords holding government hostage with families like this.”Minister of Housing Cory Deagle says it’s less about the ability to expropriate, but rather the principle of a person asking government to make them a ‘multi-millionaire.’ (Rick Gibbs/CBC)By law, it’s within government’s ability to use the Expropriation Act to obtain property like Evergreen Village. Deagle said it’s less about the ability to expropriate, but rather the principle of a person asking government to make them a “multi-millionaire.””It’s not how we operate,” Deagle said.”I’m not going to come in and say ‘Yeah, we’re just going to expropriate every property that a landlord comes to us and says “We’re going to evict everyone.'” It’s not a precedent that we want to set.”Government needs to expropriate, Greens sayMacFarlane called it “unacceptable” for residents to be in the middle, and facing homelessness. “We’ve seen government exercise its right to expropriate property before, and this would be a really good example of a time where they should use that power again to provide some certainty for these people,” he said.”The expropriation process involves an appraisal to determine what the fair market value is for this property, and that way taxpayer’s dollars are protected.”Green Leader Matt MacFarlane says government needs to expropriate the Evergreen Village property, which would give the landowner, residents and government what they want. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)MacFarlane said it’s his understanding that negotiations are not making progress, and asked Deagle to make a decision to expropriate soon.”The clock’s ticking on the notice of eviction,” he said.”These people and these families shouldn’t be put through this wringer any longer than they’ve been. Unfortunately, it’s been too long as it is, with that clock ticking on the eviction date.”ABOUT THE AUTHORCody MacKay is a writer, editor and producer for CBC News on Prince Edward Island. From Summerside, he’s a UPEI history and Carleton masters of journalism grad who joined CBC P.E.I. in 2017. You can reach him at cody.mackay@cbc.ca
Greens urge P.E.I. housing minister to expropriate Evergreen Village
