For Green Party interim leader Karla Bernard, 2024 was a “wild year” in P.E.I. politics.
Bernard said that while there used to be an understanding that “a good idea is a good idea is a good idea, no matter where it comes from,” that doesn’t seem to hold true anymore.
“We saw a further deterioration of that… spirit of collaboration, which does not exist anymore,” she told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin on Dec. 18.
Even so, Bernard said for the Green Party, “it felt like a really good year in terms of bringing forward the things that really mattered.”
With cost of living being a top concern among Islanders, Bernard said she sought to alleviate some of that pressure by working on issues like health care and housing.
“If we fixed some of those things, then cost of living wouldn’t seem like such a huge challenge,” she said.
“We need to stay focused on the issues that we have been focused on because naturally some of those other things will get worked out through other solutions.”
The Greens in the legislature
One of the Green Party’s accomplishments on that front was the bill it introduced to cut or cover bridge and ferry tolls for people travelling off the Island for medical treatment, Bernard said.
The bill was brought forward by the Green Party’s newest MLA, Matt MacFarlane.
In a February byelection, MacFarlane flipped a seat in Borden-Kinkora that was previously held by the Progressive Conservatives. That brought the total number of seats for the Greens up to three — the same as the Liberals.
With an equal number of seats, the Green Party challenged the Liberals for Official Opposition status, but the Liberals ultimately held on to the title.
Prince Edward politicians, including Premier Dennis King and interim Green leader Karla Bernard (at centre), acknowledge each other with handshakes and even some hugs at the end of the sitting on Nov. 29. (Kerry Campbell/CBC)
Dealing with tariff threats
Canadian premiers have been very involved in conversations about how to deal with the threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canadian exports.
Last year, almost 80 per cent of international exports from P.E.I. were shipped to the U.S., representing $1.8 billion in trade. A 25 per cent tariff could devastate some of the province’s major industries, some say.
“We need all of the premiers working together on this as a united front,” Bernard said.
There’s so much chaos happening… We need some stability. — Karla Bernard
“We don’t know what we’re dealing with fully to the south yet. If we don’t show a divided front there, I just think things will get really messy.”
Bernard said consistency from leaders is what Canada needs right now.
On the federal level, with calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign as Liberal leader, Bernard said, “There’s so much chaos happening… We need some stability.”
Part of the responsibility of those leadership roles includes “recognizing when it might be your time to either step down or step up, whatever that looks like for you as a leader,” she said.
The state of the party
While Bernard won’t be putting her name forward for permanent leader of the P.E.I. Green Party, she said she has been happy to be the bridge between the past and future leaders.
At the end of the day, she said she likes working for her community as an MLA.
“The whole reason I got into politics was to make things better for kids through the education system and mental health supports,” she said. “I want to continue working on that because I’m not done yet.”
The party’s leadership contest is slated to take place before the spring of 2026. But Bernard said there could be news in the new year about when that contest might take place.
Having a strong opposition is one of the most important things in a majority government. — Karla Bernard
“A leadership contest will definitely reinvigorate that energy that we already feel growing,” she said.
Bernard said that although there were lot of opportunities to focus on land ownership and protection issues this year, they were all denied. In 2025, she said she plans to “keep pushing for those things because they matter and they’re not changing.”
“Having a strong opposition is one of the most important things in a majority government,” she said. “I think that we’ve been able to do that.”
Bernard said she’s looking forward to what the Green Party brings to 2025 and intends to “keep strong and keep together and keep bringing forward the concerns of Islanders.”