Federal Retirees’ two P.E.I. branches mobilized quickly for election activities. (Charlottetown Branch town hall panelists pictured above ― from left: Zach Bell, Progressive Conservative Party candidate; Douglas Dahn, NDP candidate; Judy Hughes, Liberal Party candidate and Peter Bevan-Baker, Green Party Leader and candidate).Despite an extremely short election timeline, Prince Edward Island volunteers held two provincial election town halls!
On March 6, the province called an election for April 3. In this edition of Advocacy Spotlight, Anne MacEwen, P.E.I. advocacy program officer (APO), tells us how branches rallied to pull off two successful advocacy events despite a tight timeframe.
Summerside Branch town hall
On March 22, the Summerside branch hosted a town hall for the 2023 P.E.I. election. This advocacy event was very well attended, with approximately 50 people — including both Federal Retirees members and members of the general public — taking part.
Questions continued to flow after the formal question period, and several participants, together with all the candidates, remained at the event to continue their discussions.
Charlottetown Branch town hall
The Charlottetown Branch hosted its election town hall on March 23. This event was also well attended by about 40 members.
Quite a few people — and all the candidates — stayed for nearly an hour after the event.
As a bonus, four members who attended this town hall event spoke to volunteers about becoming volunteers themselves and joining the branch board!
Following the event, MacEwen emailed thank-you notes to the candidates. In return, she received replies thanking the National Association of Federal Retirees for holding the town hall and stating how much they appreciated the opportunity to speak with members.
Recipe for success
These election town halls could come together so quickly and successfully because P.E.I. volunteers were organized and ready to take action.
Anne MacEwen, P.E.I. advocacy program officer (APO), shares how they pulled it off.
Despite the fixed 2023 P.E.I. election date being in October, rumours and not-so-subtle hints abounded that the premier was going to call a spring election as soon as the Canada Winter Games were over.
With that in mind, the executives of the Summerside and Charlottetown branches and myself, as APO, agreed that they were going to hold town halls during the expected campaign period, did the math to arrive at the most likely election date, and made tentative bookings of a facility in each city. We advised Amy Baldry, advocacy coordinator at the national office, during a scheduled Zoom call, that this was a possibility.
Amy asked me, as APO, to poll branch executives for the key issues, which fit within Federal Retirees’ advocacy priorities, they would want to be addressed at the town halls. We responded with health care, long-term care, pharmacare and safe, affordable housing.
True to the speculation, on March 6, the premier called an election to be held on April 3 ― only four weeks later!
The Charlottetown Branch president was working for Elections P.E.I. at the time, so she could not take part in any advocacy activities. So, Shirley Pierce, former P.E.I. APO and Denis Dunne, a branch executive member, stepped up to the plate to handle logistics such as sound systems, refreshments, room set-up, the email blast to advise their members and so on.
In Summerside, Colleen Duval, branch president, and Wendy Doyle-Marcipont, branch advocacy officer, looked after the logistics.
Amy, a member of the Association’s staff advocacy team, hosted a Zoom call for all the volunteers on March 13 to help with the planning, during which she promised the full support of the national office advocacy team in preparing for the town halls. This was very much appreciated. Shirley agreed to moderate both sessions.
The national office went to work immediately to create an election toolkit for us based on our expressed priorities and the situation on the Island.
Federal Retirees’ Summerside branch volunteers invited candidates as well as other seniors groups to their election town hall. (Summerside branch town hall panelists pictured above ― from left: Peter Bevan-Baker, Leader of the provincial Green Party and candidate; Carol Rybinski, NDP candidate; Gilles Arsenault, Progressive Conservative candidate and Don Reid, Liberal candidate.)
Summerside Branch decided to invite other seniors groups and members of the public to their town hall. Wendy ran with this and made posters which she put up at seniors’ meeting places. Wendy also shared the information to local groups’ Facebook pages.
On the day of the event, the Summerside branch’s town hall was also mentioned on CBC’s Island Morning Show during the “Where will party leaders be today?” segment.
In the meantime, I had the responsibility of contacting the four main political parties to secure a candidate to speak at each town hall. Using personal contacts, political party websites and a personal visit to a campaign headquarters, I was able to track down campaign managers for each party who could coordinate their candidates’ availability.
On March 15, the Summerside Branch advocacy volunteers and I had a quick Zoom call to finalize the small details. We were also in contact nearly every day by email or text. The Charlottetown advocacy volunteer and I also emailed or spoke daily.
On March 21, two days before the Charlottetown town hall, we received confirmation of the final panellist.
I then provided biographies of all the panellists to the moderator, who copied them into the materials provided to her by the Association’s national office.
Will you be ready?
The success of this 2023 P.E.I. election campaign is a direct result of volunteers’ hard work, organizational skills and ability to mobilize with a moment’s notice — whether for a provincial or federal election or a special issue advocacy campaign.
Are you interested in helping your local branch get mobilized and in advocating on behalf of federal retirees and older Canadians? Reach out to the advocacy team at the Association’s national office to connect with your area’s APO or for additional information.
About Advocacy Spotlight
Advocacy Spotlight showcases successful initiatives and projects put forward by our dedicated volunteers and supporters.
The National Association of Federal Retirees has a proud history of advocacy on behalf of our members and all retirees. In collaboration with our volunteers and supporters from coast-to-coast, we continue this tradition of strong, smart advocacy campaigns focused on improvements to the financial security, health and well-being of our members and all Canadians. Our success is not only measured in policy changes and legislation. It grows with every meaningful discussion with parliamentarians, and with every email and letter written. Together, we are achieving and surpassing our strategic advocacy goals and targets every day.