Cardigan (Prince Edward Island) 56/338

 Cardigan (Prince Edward Island)

Today we're in our first Prince Edward Island riding, Cardigan!

Cardigan has existed as a riding since 1968, created from Kings and the dual-member district of Queens. The population of the riding was 36,615 in 2016, with the population centers of Stratford (9,706), Three Rivers (4,519), and Souris (1,053). In 2016, about 15 Amish families moved to Montague, New Perth, and Dundas and have been integrated in the communities since.  

Politically, this is a Liberal bastion. In the past 53 years, it has gone Liberal all but three times, and two of those Conservative times, it was within 300 votes. The Progressive Conservatives were very close in 1997 and 2000, within 100 votes and 300 votes respectively. For a region so Liberal federally, it elected six PC's and one Green last provincial election. The riding is currently represented by Liberal MP and Minister of Veterans Affairs, Lawrence MacAulay.

Lawrence MacAulay has sat in the House of Commons since 1988 and has served in the Chrétien and Trudeau Cabinets. He is the longest sitting MP from PEI, beating Angus McLean in 2014. He is very well liked on the island, he was actually born in Saint Peters Bay in the north of the riding. In 2019, the riding was 3/4 in Prince Edward Island and 194/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 7.4/10 - I'm sure the name had more relevance when Cardigan had more people, but now that it's part of Three Rivers, I could see that becoming the name.

Shape: 8.9/10 - There's not much to get annoyed with, but it's a little jagged I guess.

Individuality: 7.7/10 - It is really cool how Lawrence MacAulay has served there and the difference between provincial and federal is very stark.

Total: 24/30 (80%)

See you tomorrow in Cariboo—Prince George! (Thank you to andytheislander for your insights into the riding!)