Robert Mitchell (Prince Edward Island politician)
Canadian politician (born 1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Mitchell (born 13 May 1963)[1] is a Canadian politician who served as leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party from 2025 to 2026, previously serving as its interim leader in 2019. Mitchell was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in the 2007 provincial election representing a district in Charlottetown until 2020.[2][3]
Robert Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party | |
| In office October 4, 2025 – July 16, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Hal Perry (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Hal Perry (interim) |
| Interim leader May 8, 2019 – September 9, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Wade MacLauchlan |
| Succeeded by | Sonny Gallant (interim) |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island | |
| In office June 12, 2007 – September 3, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Chester Gillan |
| Succeeded by | Zack Bell |
| Constituency | Charlottetown-Sherwood (2007–2019) Charlottetown-Winsloe (2019–2020) |
| Dean of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island | |
| In office March 26, 2019 – September 3, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 13, 1963 Sherwood, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Party | Liberal |
| Occupation | Politician, Lineman |
Political career
On May 20, 2015, Mitchell was appointed to the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island as Minister of Communities, Land and Environment.[4][5] On January 10, 2018, Mitchell was moved to Minister of Health and Wellness in a cabinet shuffle.[6]
From May 8 to September 9, 2019, he served as interim leader of the Liberal Party on Prince Edward Island.
On September 3, 2020, he stepped down from his political position as MLA for Charlottetown-Winsloe, after serving in the provincial legislature for thirteen years in both districts.[3]
On May 14, 2025, Mitchell announced his bid for the party's leadership, winning the position on October 3, defeating Todd Cormier. Mitchell was a candidate in the 2025 Georgetown-Pownal provincial by-election, which he lost to the Progressive Conservative candidate, Brendan Curran.[7] He again sought election to the provincial legislature in 2026, running in the Cornwall-Meadowbank provincial by-election. He was defeated by Green candidate Tayte Willows.[8] Following his consecutive defeats, Mitchell announced on July 15 that he would be resigning from the party leadership effective the next day.[9] Hal Perry was selected by caucus to continue to serve as leader of the Official Opposition, and confirmed by the party executive to serve as interim leader.[9]
Electoral history
| Prince Edward Island provincial by-election, July 13, 2026: Cornwall-Meadowbank Death of Mark McLane | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Green | Tayte Willows | 1,184 | 39.65 | +15.40 | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 955 | 31.98 | +12.86 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Caley McDonald | 823 | 27.56 | –27.19 | ||||
| New Democratic | Craig Nash | 24 | 0.80 | –1.07 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,986 | 99.87 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 4 | 0.13 | –0.37 | |||||
| Turnout | 2,990 | 60.87 | –7.62 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 4,912 | |||||||
| Green gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +21.30 | ||||||
| Source: Elections PEI | ||||||||
| Prince Edward Island provincial by-election, December 8, 2025: Georgetown-Pownal Resignation of Steven Myers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Brendan Curran | 986 | 46.86 | -22.93 | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 881 | 41.87 | +29.7 | ||||
| Green | Eddie Childs | 200 | 9.51 | -3 | ||||
| New Democratic | Kevin Trainor | 40 | 1.90 | +0.9 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,104 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 2,104 | 54.04 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 3,893 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | |||||||
Source(s) | ||||||||
| 2019 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 1,420 | 41.97 | -1.1 | ||||
| Green | Amanda Morrison | 1,057 | 31.24 | +21.5 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Mike Gillis | 865 | 25.57 | -8.6 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jesse Reddin Cousins | 41 | 1.21 | -11.8 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 3,383 | 99.79 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 7 | 0.21 | ||||||
| Turnout | 3,390 | 80.47 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 4,213 | |||||||
| This was a newly created district | ||||||||
| Source: Elections Prince Edward Island[11] | ||||||||
| 2015 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 1,425 | 45.81 | -8.12 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Mike Gillis | 1,031 | 33.14 | -4.03 | ||||
| New Democratic | Karalee McAskill | 360 | 11.57 | +7.12 | ||||
| Green | Mitchell Gallant | 295 | 9.48 | +5.03 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 3,111 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -2.04 | ||||||
| [12] | ||||||||
| 2011 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 1,538 | 53.93 | -0.85 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Mike Gillis | 1,060 | 37.17 | -2.67 | ||||
| New Democratic | Kat Murphy | 127 | 4.45 | +1.73 | ||||
| Green | Sarah Jones | 127 | 4.45 | +1.79 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 2,852 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +0.91 | ||||||
| 2007 Prince Edward Island general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Mitchell | 1,712 | 54.78 | +19.42 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Chester Gillan | 1,245 | 39.84 | -21.73 | ||||
| New Democratic | Brian Pollard | 85 | 2.72 | -0.35 | ||||
| Green | Kat Murphy | 83 | 2.66 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 3,125 | 100.0 | ||||||
| This was a newly created district | ||||||||
| Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +20.57 | ||||||
