April 24, 1978 (1978-04-24) 1979 → 17 15 50.7% 48.1% | 26 seats, 54.0% 6 seats, 39.9% 64,133 60,878 Start date April 24, 1978 | |
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The 54th Prince Edward Island general election was held on April 24, 1978.
The election was one of the closest on records, with the governing Liberals of Premier Alexander B. Campbell losing a number of seats to their Progressive Conservative rivals. The razor thin result led to an unstable legislature and another election was held just one year later in 1979.
Members elected
The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.
In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.