Bloyce Thompson, MLA for the district of Stanhope-Marshfield since 2019 and ag minister from 2019 until last summer, was again appointed April 14 as King’s minister of agriculture, justice and public safety and attorney general.

King’s shuffle also decouples what was until now the ministry of agriculture and land. The latter file now goes to a “realigned” department of housing, land and communities, to be led by Rob Lantz, the rookie Progressive Conservative MLA for Charlottetown-Brighton.

The new housing, land and communities department is expected to be “working closely with municipalities on developing a provincewide land-use plan” for Prince Edward Island, the government said in a release.

Thompson, a third-generation dairy farmer and former board member with Dairy Farmers of P.E.I., was first named ag minister as a rookie MLA following the April 2019 provincial election, in which he unseated incumbent premier Wade MacLauchlan.

King last July had shuffled Thompson over to the economic growth, tourism and culture portfolios, and replaced him on the agriculture and land, justice and public safety files with then-finance minister Darlene Compton.

Compton, who’d been the province’s first female ag minister, has been shuffled out of cabinet in King’s April 14 announcement. Thompson also becomes deputy premier, a role Compton had held since 2019.

“This team is a mix of experience and new perspectives, geographically represents our island, and has a record number of women serving as members of executive council,” King said in his release.

Both Thompson and Compton easily won their ridings in the April 3 provincial election. Thompson held his constituency of Stanhope-Marshfield with 2209 votes, a spread of 1,643 votes over his lone challenger, NDP candidate Marian White.

New deputy

Separately on April 14, King also announced changes to the senior civil service, including the formal appointment of Brian Matheson as deputy minister of agriculture, effective April 17.

Having already served as acting deputy minister of agriculture and land since 2019, Matheson has been with the provincial ag department for about three decades, most recently as director of policy and agriculture resources since 2015.

Matheson has taken part in national policy and regulatory discussions and negotiations at the federal/provincial/territorial table over the past five years as part of his policy and regulatory responsibilities, the province noted.

As the province’s seniormost ag bureaucrat, Matheson replaces Laurie Loane, who left the deputy minister post in 2019 to return to her previous job as executive director of the P.E.I. Agriculture Sector Council. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Darlene Compton, King’s agriculture minister since last summer and his incumbent deputy premier, won re-election Monday for the Progressive Conservatives in her district of Belfast-Murray River.

Compton, the province’s first female agriculture minister and first female deputy premier, won 1,510 of 2,574 votes — well ahead of Liberal challenger Katherine Bryson with 520.

The incumbent opposition Green Party’s leader and agriculture critic, Peter Bevan-Baker, also held his district of New Haven-Rocky Point, drawing 1,457 votes on Monday.

Bevan-Baker’s margin of victory was 106 votes against Tory challenger Donalda Docherty — a relatively narrow spread compared to the 2019 general election. Sharon Cameron, the provincial Liberals’ new leader, came in third in New Haven-Rocky Point with 502 votes.

Bevan-Baker’s Greens also lost official opposition status, keeping just two of their eight seats from 2019. Cameron’s Liberals won three seats — down from six in 2019, but enough to regain official opposition — while the Tories took 22 seats, lifting them out of minority government status.

The Liberals’ incumbent ag critic, former ag minister Robert Henderson, held his district of O’Leary-Inverness with 894 votes. That also gave Henderson a relatively narrower margin, 156 votes over Tory challenger Daniel MacDonald, a beef and dairy farmer. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Premier Dennis King has named Darlene Compton, MLA for the riding of Belfast-Murray River, as minister of agriculture and land, justice and public safety minister and attorney general, replacing Stanhope-Marshfield MLA Bloyce Thompson.

Thompson, who had handled the ag and justice portfolios since 2019, now becomes minister of economic growth, tourism and culture. In that role he replaces Kensington-Malpeque MLA Matthew MacKay, who moves to the social development and housing file.

Compton, who keeps her role as deputy premier, had served as the Progressive Conservative government’s finance minister since 2019, along with a short stint (2019-20) as minister for the status of women.

Before being elected to the legislature in 2015, Compton worked as administrator of the Dr. John Gillis Memorial Lodge at Belfast, about 35 km southeast of Charlottetown. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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