Voters in one P.E.I. riding face a tough choice in the April 23 provincial election: Matthew MacKay, or Matthew MacKay.
Seeking re-election in the provincial district of Kensington-Malpeque, Progressive Conservative Matthew MacKay is being challenged by Green party rookie Matthew MacKay.
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sa国际传媒淚 was a little worried that come election day some people might get confused,sa国际传媒� says the Tory incumbent, a 37-year-old real estate agent who has represented the district since 2015.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 the talk of the community right now.sa国际传媒�
To avoid confusion, his Green party rival has agreed to use his middle initial, which means his name will appear on the ballot as Matthew J. MacKay.
Matthew J. says the Islandsa国际传媒檚 Scottish settlers helped create this odd predicament.
sa国际传媒淭he Scots are very frugal people, we recycle everything sa国际传媒� we even recycle names,sa国际传媒� says 64-year-old Matthew J., a semi-retired graphic artist who worked at the University of Prince Edward Island.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a lot of MacKays and theresa国际传媒檚 a lot of Matthews sa国际传媒� Wesa国际传媒檙e not really creative when it comes to new, trendy names. Isa国际传媒檓 surprised it hasnsa国际传媒檛 happened in P.E.I. before.sa国际传媒�
Local media are referring to the two men as Green MacKay and PC MacKay. The Liberal candidate is Nancy Beth Guptill.
The Green contender, who refers to himself as sa国际传媒淥ld Matthew,sa国际传媒� says he has come to the conclusion there will be no confusion on voting day, thanks to a quirk of Island politics.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 an only-on-P.E.I. story, in the sense that District 20 has only 4,000 voters sa国际传媒� and most of us know everybody here anyway,sa国际传媒� Matthew J. said in an interview.
sa国际传媒淲e (both) grew up here sa国际传媒� Wesa国际传媒檙e not separated at birth. We donsa国际传媒檛 look remotely similar. And most people would know who is who sa国际传媒� Nobody is going to be confused in P.E.I.sa国际传媒�
As well, a spokesman for Elections P.E.I. says each candidatesa国际传媒檚 party affiliation and hometown will be clearly indicated on the ballots.
In the 2000 federal election, two men named John Williams faced off in Albertasa国际传媒檚 St. Albert riding. Before the vote, the local returning officer drew their names out of a hat to determine which one would appear first on the ballot.
At the time, it was thought to be a first in federal election history.
In P.E.I., Premier Wade MacLauchlan called for an early election on Tuesday, saying the Liberal party can take credit for stoking the fires of the Islandsa国际传媒檚 red-hot economy.
Under the provincesa国际传媒檚 election law, voters were slated to go to the polls Oct. 7, but MacLauchlan moved up the date, partly to avoid a conflict with the federal election on Oct. 19.
The latest opinion polls suggest the Liberal party has lost favour with the electorate after 11 years in power.
A Corporate Research Associates survey released this month suggests the Greens had a healthy lead, followed by the Progressive Conservatives, who picked a new leader, Dennis King, in February. The Liberals were in third place, followed by the NDP, led by Joe Byrne.
As a rookie leader with no political baggage, MacLauchlan sa国际传媒� a constitutional lawyer and former law professor sa国际传媒� led the Liberals to a majority win in 2015.
On Tuesday, MacLauchlan set the tone for the campaign by dismissing the Conservative party as a group in chaos, noting theysa国际传媒檝e had five leaders in four years. And he suggested voting for the Greens would be too risky, saying the future of the province was too important to sa国际传媒渞isk on uncertain, expensive social experiments.sa国际传媒�
Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
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