Malpeque

Malpeque spans the rural centre of Prince Edward Island from the North Shore to the South Shore, taking in farmland, fishing communities, and growing bedroom suburbs. The riding includes the towns of Cornwall, Kensington, and Borden-Carleton — the Prince Edward Island terminus of the Confederation Bridge — along with the tourism corridor around Cavendish and North Rustico on the North Shore.

Candidates

Wayne Easter (Liberal) — A dairy, beef, and grain farmer from North Wiltshire, Easter had represented Malpeque continuously since 1993, making him one of the longest-serving MPs in Atlantic Canada at the time. Before entering politics, he spent eleven years as president of the National Farmers Union. In Parliament, he served as Solicitor General of Canada from 2002 to 2003 and held parliamentary secretary roles in the agriculture and fisheries portfolios. He chaired the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance during the previous Parliament.

Anna Keenan (Green Party) — Originally from Australia, where she earned degrees in physics and economics, Keenan spent five years as a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace International in Europe before moving to Prince Edward Island with her Island-born husband. She served as president of the PEI Green Party from 2016 to 2017, guiding the provincial party through a period of rapid growth. At the time of the campaign, she worked as digital organizing manager for 350.org, a global climate advocacy organization.

Stephen Stewart (Conservative) — A Kensington native, Stewart was a retired entrepreneur who had spent three decades in the mussel industry, owning mussel farms and the processing operation Confederation Cove Mussels. This was his second consecutive federal run in Malpeque, having also contested the riding in 2015.

Craig Nash (NDP) — Originally from Gladstone, Manitoba, Nash had lived on Prince Edward Island for twenty-three years at the time of the election. He had worked in retail, as a small business owner, in the Canadian military, and as a teacher for Holland College in China. This was his first federal campaign, though he had run provincially for the NDP and served as a campaign manager in a provincial by-election.

About the Riding

Agriculture remains the backbone of Malpeque's rural economy. The riding's red-soil fields produce potatoes, grain, and dairy products, while Malpeque Bay on the North Shore is renowned internationally for its oysters and supports a thriving aquaculture industry in oysters and mussels. Lobster fishing and other commercial fisheries contribute to the coastal economy, with processing plants providing seasonal employment.

The North Shore tourism corridor is a significant economic driver, with Cavendish, North Rustico, and surrounding areas drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer to Prince Edward Island National Park and Green Gables Heritage Place, the farmstead associated with Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels. Borden-Carleton marks the Island landfall of the 12.9-kilometre Confederation Bridge, the primary surface link to the mainland, and bridge tolls have been a recurring political issue in the riding.

Cornwall, located just west of Charlottetown, has emerged as one of the province's fastest-growing communities, functioning as a suburban hub for commuters working in the capital. Balancing this residential growth against the need to protect productive farmland has been a longstanding local tension.

The 2019 campaign saw cost of living and Employment Insurance zones emerge as central issues, with all four candidates agreeing that the existing two-zone EI system created inequities for Island workers. Environmental issues also generated heated debate, particularly around fossil fuel policy and clean energy. Easter's long incumbency — he had held the seat since 1993 — gave the contest the character of a referendum on his record, with opponents arguing the riding needed new representation.