Pat Binns
| Rank: | 32nd Premier |
|---|---|
| Term of Office: | November 27, 1996– |
| Predecessor: | Keith Milligan |
| Successor: | Incumbent |
| Date of Birth: | October 8, 1948 |
| Place of Birth: | Weyburn, Saskatchewan |
| Spouse: | Carol MacMillan |
| Profession: | Bean Farmer |
| Political affiliation: | Progressive Conservative |
Patrick George Binns (born October 8, 1948 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan), is a Canadian politician and the Premier of Prince Edward Island. He has been the leader of the Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservative Party since 1996.
Before the premiership
Binns graduated from the University of Alberta in 1971 with a Masters of Arts in Community Development while working for the government of Alberta as a community development officer. In 1972, Binns began working for the Prince Edward Island Rural Development Council and met and married Carol MacMillan of Wood Islands. Binns subsequently established an edible bean farm in Hopefield (Island Bean Limited) as well as continuing a home-based consulting business.
Binns entered politics in 1978 when he was elected as a MLA for the district of 4th Kings. He was subsequently re-elected in 1979 and 1982, serving various portfolios as Minister of Industry, Municipal Affairs, Fisheries, Environment, Labour, Housing and had responsibilities for Economic Development. From 1984-1988 Binns was the MP for Cardigan.
First term (1996-2000)
Binns entered the provincial PC Party leadership race to succeed Patricia Mella in 1996 and won by a convincing margin. He immediately set about organizing the party for an election expected within months and was in an extremely favourable position, given that the incumbent three-term Liberal government had used most of its political capital, after being in power for a decade. The Tories under Mella had been reduced to 1 seat in the 32 seat legislature in 1993 and Islanders were clamouring for a more balanced seat count.
Binns' PC Party met the expectations of political observers by beating the Liberals in the general election on November 18, 1996, gathering 18 seats to the Liberal's 8, and the NDP's 1. This was the first general election in Prince Edward Island since entered Confederation that the electoral system had been modified; previously, there were 32 MLAs elected in 16 districts which had a councillor and assemblyman - so parties could put forth a Protestant and Catholic candidates.
In addition to voter exhaustion with the Liberal administration, and the electoral district changes, other factors came into play which benefitted Binns' Tory part. In 1994, the Liberal administration faced declining tax revenues and increased expenditures resulting from reductions in federal transfer payments. Pay cuts were imposed on the civil service ranging from 3.75%-7.5%. These measures reduced deficits in subsequent fiscal years and remain in place through a law passed by the provincial legislature. The imposed wage reductions resulted in an enduring bitterness toward the Liberal party by public sector employees; during the 1996 election, the public sector union leaders encouraged members to vote for Binns' PC Party, or the NDP led by Dr. Herb Dickieson.
Given the abnormally large and inflated public sector in Prince Edward Island (largely explained by economies of scale), the influence of employees voting "en masse" over the wage issue arguably gave Binns' PC government a free ride for its first term, despite having a strong opposition in the legislature. An improving economy, largely resulting from the construction of the Confederation Bridge, as well as record tourism levels - partly due to the newly-discovered ease of access with the bridge, as well as skyrocketing economic growth in the northeastern U.S. and central Canada spilling over into the Maritimes and PEI, saw Binns' party gain increasing acceptance across the Island.
Second term (2000-2003)
Binns' won a second mandate in 2000 when his PC Party swept 26 of 27 seats, leaving a single opposition Liberal in the legislature. This was the third time since 1989 that a provincial election had resulted in such an unbalanced seat count compared to the popular vote. In 1989, the governing Liberals won 30 out of 32 seats, largely due to a voter backlash against the federal PC Party, which had announced the closure of CFB Summerside and the abandoning of the province's railway network by Crown corporation CN Rail. In 1993, the Tory presence in the Legislature was reduced by half, when only Progressive Conservative Leader Pat Mella won her seat.
Political observers noted that Binns' support base in the 1996 election had been largely concentrated in Kings County and part of Queens County, while incumbent premier Keith Milligan and NDP leader Dr. Dickieson were based in western Prince County. Toward the end of Binns' first term, many veteran Liberals from the Ghiz-Callbeck-Milligan administrations who had hung on in opposition opted to retire from politics. Coupled with this, a doctor shortage in rural western Prince County had locals wishing for Dr. Dickieson to give up politics and return to his medical practise. Sensing the momentum was with the Tories for at least a few more years, and given the disarray in the Liberal leadership, Islanders swung their vote in most districts to be on the side of the government in order to curry favour from Charlottetown.
Third term (2003-present)
Binns' joined with most other provincial premiers during 2003 and called a provincial election in advance of an expected 2004 federal election, partly to avoid conflicting with the federal campaign, but also to take advantage of his own record personal popularity. Infamously, the election date September 29, 2003 coincided with Hurricane Juan, a category 1 hurricane which swept over the central part of the province during the early morning hours, causing several million dollars in property damage and disrupting electricity service for days. The election date was not delayed or cancelled, although the decision to do so rested with the Chief Electoral Officer and not the premier; despite the weather, there was a customary high voter turnout (80%).
Islanders, however, were not willing to give a virtually blank mandate as had occurred in 2000, and elected 23 PCs and 4 opposition Liberals to provide a slightly more balanced legislature. The results are still somewhat skewed as the dedicated Liberal-Conservative voters give each party roughly 40% of the vote, with the remaining 20% split toward the winning party, the NDP and others. There was speculation - but absolutely no evidence - that the effects of Juan and the fact that the election date was not moved may have resulted in some votes swinging against the governing Tories.
While the provincial PC Party has enjoyed record popularity under Binns' leadership since 1996 it is believed that voter cynicism is starting to take hold as the Tories' political capital is being increasingly drained. There are two factors which currently play toward the Tories' favour: 1) the high degree of personal popularity Binns enjoys province-wide, particularly when compared with other serving premiers in modern PEI history; and 2) the relative inexperience of Liberal leader Robert Ghiz and the contrast of personalities, particularly when compared to Binns - many voters view Mr. Ghiz as an opportunist playing on his family's political legacy.
If Binns serves the maximum of his current term, to September 29, 2008, he will become the second longest serving premier since PEI became a separate colony in 1854. The current holder of the title is Alexander B. Campbell, who served for 12 years. If Binns is re-elected, and serves until January 9, 2009 he will be able to claim the title by a single day.
On November 19, 2005, Binns announced to the provincial PC party that he intended to stay on to seek a fourth term, quelling closet leadership campaigns which had been underway in advance of the announcement. There had been speculation as to whether Binns would chose to continue as premier into another election, or opt to return to federal politics and run for the Cardigan seat under the federal Conservative party. Binns had also been on record numerous times stating that 10 years was enough time for someone in his position and that there should be a turn-over at that point; this would likely have been his true intentions were it not for an alleged lack of a credible opposition, and more importantly a lack of credible successors in his own party.
A provincial non-binding plebiscite on a proposed mixed-proportional representation model was held on November 28, 2005. Binns had said that even though the plebiscite was non-binding, his government would only consider advancing the electoral reform discussion further should a super-majority of 60% of all voters and 60% of all districts chooses to vote "yes". This generated some controversy, but the proposed reform was in any event resoundingly rejected.
Recently, Binns' government announced that it will send the report of the Island's independent Electoral Boundaries Commission for review by a committee of the legislature, and possible alteration of the Commission's recommended electoral districts. Opposition Leader Robert Ghiz has accused the Premier of planning to gerrymander the districts.
There had been rumours that, if the Conservative Party of Canada won the 2006 election, but no seats on PEI (as did happen), Stephen Harper would appoint Binns to the federal Cabinet and have him run in a provincewide election for the Island's currently vacant Senate seat. However, he stated that he was not interested in running for the Senate.
Criticism
Binns and his government have been unwavering in their support for rural Prince Edward Island by refusing to consolidate and centralize services; choosing to deliberately maintain costly schools, hospitals, paved roads and other rural infrastructure in the face of a growing trend toward urbanization. In recent years, Binns has also endured criticism for his refusal to regulate increased subdivision of rural agricultural land and resulting "ribbon development" which has been degrading Prince Edward Island's countryside with urban sprawl extending into rural and near-urban areas.
Binns' government has also been reluctant to regulate environmental controls for the agricultural industry. PEI's explosive growth in industrial potato farming practises during the 1990s, following a tripling of french fry manufacturing capacity, has resulted in increased use of agricultural pesticides. Heavier-than-normal summer rain storms during the past decade (some speculate as a result of climate change) have resulted in environmental problems such as fish kills in freshwater streams, mostly due to pesticide run-off and siltation. Such political stances by his government might be reflective of Binns' background in rural economic development and his Red Tory heritage from the government of J. Angus MacLean, as well as his own status as a farmer-premier closely attuned to the PC Party's large rural base of support.
While Binns' personal popularity remains high, his administration has been criticized by economists and public policy experts for being a "caretaker" government ("governing to be popular") which has not adequately handled strategic issues facing Prince Edward Island; namely, decreases in the provincial tax base coupled in turn with declining federal equalization payments, a continued and increasingly rapid outmigration of young people as a result of increased personal mobility brought about by the Confederation Bridge and cheap airfares to job-rich regions such as Alberta energy projects or Ontario urban centres, higher health care costs for the remaining increasingly-elderly population, an aging and outdated transportation and public services infrastructure, changing trends in the regional and global tourism industries which are increasingly ignoring PEI.
Legacy
Binns may be remembered for running the largest deficits in the history of Canada's smallest province, with the net provincial debt forecast at $1.347 billion (CAD) for FY 2005-2006, a gain of $350 million alone since FY 1998-1999. The Binns administration has endured heavy criticism for sloppy accounting of ministerial expenses, as well as major hits to the provinicial treasury following investments/subsidies for several failed businesses. The growing economic crisis resulted in Binns' government reducing the provincial civil service by over 1,000 employees, largely through attrition and buy-outs, during FY 2004-2005 with further workforce reductions expected in FY 2005-2006; given the Liberals record is tied to the civil service salary roll-back in 1997, it is unlikely Binns' government will follow this route in reducing expenditures.