Several councillors acclaimed in 2022 P.E.I. municipal elections
In a few weeks municipal elections will be held in communities across the Island, but some candidates are already acclaimed because no one came forward to oppose them.
The polls in five municipalities — Charlottetown, Summerside, Stratford, Cornwall and Three Rivers — are being operated by Elections P.E.I. The nomination cut-off was Friday afternoon.
There will be a race in every ward in Charlottetown — except for one, said Tim Garrity, the province's chief electoral officer.
"There is one acclamation in Ward 10, that's Terry Bernard," Garrity said, adding voters in that ward will only get a ballot to vote in the three-way mayoral race between Philip Brown, Cecil Villard and Daniel Mullen.
Cornwall already has their mayor in place. No one came forward to run against Minerva McCourt who will begin her third term. Voters in that area will get a ballot to select six councillors, Garrity said.
"It was very humbling. I never really thought that was the way it was going to go. I always felt as I was campaigning that there was somebody, you know, ready to come in and run against me," said McCourt.
"Very much looking forward to another four years."
In Summerside there are "quite a few acclamations," Garrity said.
"In Ward 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8: those are all acclamations," he said.
That means Bruce MacDougall, Justin Doiron, Barb Ramsay, Corey Snow and Carrie Adams will all sit on Summerside Council. There will be races in Ward 5, Ward 6, Ward 7, and for mayor.
"It is a little surprising, it's very interesting that more people didn't come out," Garrity said.
In Three Rivers there is a race for mayor and every ward except one. There are two councillors for each ward in the municipality, Alan Monro and Anne Van Donkersgoed are both acclaimed for Ward 1.
Stratford has a full slate set with a race for mayor and every councillor position, Garrity said.
Advanced voting days in the regions Elections P.E.I. oversees are Saturday, Oct. 29, Monday, Oct. 31, and Friday Nov. 4. Those polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. AT.
Voting locations will be open in those areas on Monday, Nov. 7, open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m AT.
Information on polling locations for the communities Elections P.E.I. is administering is on its website.
If you are a registered voter, you should have received a voter information card. This card will have information on where to vote. Take your card and a photo ID to the poll to make the process of voting go more quickly. People can complete their registration online if they haven't done so yet.
"That voter card is kind of your fast ticket through the polls," Garrity said.
If you don't have your card, you can find your poll number using the province's address information database. If you aren't registered, you can still vote. Bring two pieces of ID to the poll to get registered.
If you live outside of the five communities where Elections P.E.I. is running the polls, check your community website for voting information.
"The Department of Municipal Affairs will be putting out some information about that and it will be available on their website and they will be dealing with the media on their own," Garrity said.
Nominations for elections in all other municipalities have been extended. The nomination cut-off is now 2 p.m. AT on Oct. 28, 2022.
CBC will have live coverage of the election, including up-to-the minute including online and on CBC Radio One.
