Leadership is the ability to motivate, influence and guide others. That definition ought to be engraved above the main door of Province House, not as decoration, but as a reminder of purpose.

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Within a nine-month period, all four of Prince Edward Island’s main political parties will have completed leadership processes. Two are finished and two are underway. On its face, that should signal renewal. Instead, it has revealed a deeper unease.

I use the word “process” deliberately rather than the traditional term “race,” because competition requires contrast, and contrast requires ideas.

What we have witnessed instead is disengagement. Debate has been limited. Policy discussion has been thin. Party members and the broader public have largely been left on the sidelines.

Both the Liberal and Green parties offered two candidates, yet the outcomes were widely understood from the outset, a reality confirmed by the final tallies. Neither process meaningfully engaged Islanders on policy. Criticism stood in for substance. Caution replaced conviction. Positions were avoided rather than tested.

The New Democratic Party currently has a single declared candidate, which is not a race by any reasonable definition. The Progressive........

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