Long-time civil servant becomes P.E.I. NDP leader

by Nash Alonto

Feb. 15, 2023

Michelle Neill has been NDP leader since April 2022. She hopes their candidates will get elected after 23 years of not clinching a seat in the Legislative Assembly. (photo by Nash Alonto)

Michelle Neill was interested in getting into politics because her main passion is helping others.

Through her experience working for the federal government for 29 years, she helped people understand the processes in government, as well as problems with government.

“It’s difficult sometimes to navigate all the red tape of government, and because I’ve worked with government, I understand where to go for certain things, so I like to help people (go) through that,” she said.

Neill has been the leader of the NDP on P.E.I. since April 2022. She will be running as MLA for Charlottetown-Brighton in the upcoming provincial election, which could be as early as April.

Despite originally hailing from the Brackley-Hunter River district, Neill chose to run for Charlottetown-Brighton MLA because of her connections to the area.

“I know a lot of people who have been volunteers in local sports clubs and things like that, so I know quite few people in that district, because I’ve been quite involved in the past at Simmons Rink with figure skating, hockey, things like that. So, I’m hoping those connections I’ve made with people over the years will help,” she said.

A few months before she became leader, the NDP held a strategic session in January 2022, where party members were asked about their passions, as well as strengths and weaknesses, to get diverse opinions.

“I wanted different perspectives to come at me because I know that I don’t know everything, so I want to be sure that if I come up with an idea, that people are gonna question my idea so we can make it a better one,” she said.

For this year’s campaign, the NDP is focusing on candidates with diverse cultural, age and gender backgrounds, especially given the rise of immigrant populations from outside of Canada in recent years. Their platform includes improving healthcare, affordable and available housing, and climate change.

“In the past, the legislature has not really been very reflective of the Island residential people, to be quite honest. So that’s why we’re focusing on ensuring that we are diverse, and we do have representation from various different groups on the Island and ensure that everyone has a voice,” Neill said.

The NDP’s nomination event is today at Beaconsfield House in Charlottetown. Neill hopes that a few candidates will get elected this time around.

“There’s nothing to say we can’t,” she said.