1978 Prince Edward Island general election

April 24, 1978 (1978-04-24)
All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Lib Leader Alexander B. Campbell Angus MacLean Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since December 11, 1965 September 25, 1976 Leader's seat 5th Prince 4th Queens Last election 26 seats, 54.0% 6 seats, 39.9% Seats won 17 15 Seat change 9 9 Popular vote 64,133 60,878 Percentage 50.7% 48.1% Swing 3.3pp 8.2pp
Seats won by each party per district. Voters elect two members (one Councillor and Assemblyman) from each of the 16 districts.
Premier before election Alexander B. Campbell Liberal Premier after election Alexander B. Campbell Liberal

The 1978 Prince Edward Island general election was held on April 24, 1978.^[1]

The election was one of the closest on records, with the governing Liberals of Premier Alexander B. Campbell losing a number of seats to their Progressive Conservative rivals. The razor thin result and the resignation of Alex Campbell led to an unstable legislature and another election was held just one year later in 1979.

Party standings

Members elected

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district. Before 1963, Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district, but afterward they were elected in the same manner as Assemblymen.^[2]

Sources