The 1982 Prince Edward Island general election was held on September 27, 1982.^[2]

Quick Facts All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 17 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...

1982 Prince Edward Island general election

← 1979 September 27, 1982 (1982-09-27) 1986 →
← outgoing members members →
All 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 17 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	78.2%[1]
First party Second party   PC Leader James Lee Joe Ghiz Party Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since November 7, 1981 October 24, 1981 Leader's seat 5th Queens 6th Queens Last election 21 seats, 53.3% 11 seats, 45.3% Seats won 21 11 Seat change Popular vote 71,274 60,771 Percentage 53.7% 45.8% Swing 0.4pp 0.5pp
Seats won by each party per district. Voters elect two members (one Councillor and Assemblyman) from each of the 16 districts.
Premier before election James Lee Progressive Conservative Premier after election James Lee Progressive Conservative

Close

In 1981, after just two years as premier, Angus MacLean resigned his position after the election of James Lee to the Progressive Conservative leadership. In the same year, the Liberals selected future premier Joe Ghiz as their leader. Lee called an early election (traditionally elections in PEI are held every four years) in which a few seats changed hands, but the overall count stayed the same as in 1979.

This election also marked the lowest point in popular support for the New Democrats on PEI, who were led by an interim leader.

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. Before 1963, Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district, but afterward they were elected in the same manner as Assemblymen.^[3]