Here are the candidates running in Egmont - Action News
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PEI

Here are the candidates running in Egmont

Egmont covers the western end of P.E.I., from the western tip and east to Summerside.

The state of the aerospace industry could be an issue in Egmont

Potatoes are important in Egmont, and the riding is home to the P.E.I. Potato Museum. (Jane Robertson/CBC)

Egmont covers the western end of P.E.I.

It runs from North Cape down to West Point and east to include Summerside, P.E.I.'s second city.

The riding of Egmont in western P.E.I. stretches from the city of Summerside to North Cape. (CBC)

With two major industrial parks, at Slemon Park and Bloomfield Corner, along with farming and fishing communities throughout the riding and the city of Summerside, Egmont encompasses just about every aspect of the Island.

The future of Slemon Park, focused on the aerospace industry, is a concern in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Egmont is the only riding that is completely within the rural employment insurance zone, meaning people living there do not have to work as long for more weeks of EI benefits.

Barry Balsom, Conservative

Barry Balsom is well known as an apple farmer on P.E.I. He founded Arlington Orchards in 1993.

Over those almost 30 years the company has grown to include processing facilities, wholesale operations and farm markets.

This is his first election run, but he has served as president of the Egmont Conservative Association.

He lives in Arlington.

Wayne Biggar, People's Party

Wayne Biggar is a real estate agent, having worked with Royal LePage for almost 10 years.

Before becoming a real estate agent, he worked in the oil and gas industry in Alberta and B.C.

He grew up in P.E.I., and lives in Summerside.

Lisa Bradshaw, NDP

Lisa Bradshaw is a dental assistant and was an educational assistant at the PublicSchools Branch. She also owns a jewelry business.

Bradshaw has been an active volunteer andcommunity organizer since 1985. She helped launch the Summerside Wellness Centre and has previously workedwiththeBand Parents Association, the Canadian Cancer Society and Immigration Canada.

She lives in Summerside.

Alex Clark, Green

This is Alex Clark's second run for the Green Party.

He also represented the Greens in the Egmont riding in the 2019 federal election.

Clark is the owner/operator of Evermoore Brewing in Summerside, and has been active in local tourism associations.

He lives in Summerside.

Robert Morrissey, Liberal

Robert Morrissey is a former provincial cabinet minister and has been the MP for Egmont since 2015.

Morrissey was an MLA from 1982-2000 and spent the years between provincial and federal politics in the private sector, as a consultant in the food processing sector.

He's the former president of the Tignish Seniors Home Care Co-op and was vice-chair of Tignish Special Needs Housing.

He lives in Tignish.

Electoral history

Egmont is the only riding on P.E.I. since 1988 that has sent an MP to Ottawa that is not a Liberal.

In 2008, Gail Shea beat Liberal Keith Milligan by a few dozen votes to end a 20-year run of no one but Liberals representing P.E.I. in Parliament. She won re-election easily in 2011, but lost heavily to Robert Morrissey in 2015.

Morrissey was re-elected in 2019. It was a much closer race, but still a comfortable win with a margin of more than 1,000 votes. Conservative Logan MacLellan placed second, and Green Alex Clark had a strong showing with 19.8 per cent of the vote.

For Morrissey to be unseated, it is likely both the Greens and the Conservatives will have to do well, and make a three-way race of it.

Other ridings on P.E.I.