Patrick George Binns (Born October 8, 1948-) who was born 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. From 1984-1988 Binns was the MP for Cardigan.

Binns, who was elected in 1996, has brought the PC Party more popularity than any leader in modern PEI history. He was re-elected in 2004, and if he serves the maximum of his current term, to 2009, he will become the 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. He can, of course, choose to stay on longer, though PEI Premiers do not have a history of normally staying for more then 3 terms.

The Binns government took over from a very unpopular Liberal government in 1996. The Liberals had recently negotiated with the public service union to have a voluntary pay cut to help deal with the deficit. They never brought the level of pay back, and many Islanders remained cross at the party for this reason, choosing to vote for Binns, or for the Island New Democrats. While the temporary fall of the Liberal Party helped the NDP and Dr. Herb Dickieson, arguably it helped the PC government more so, giving it a free ride in office. From 2000 to 2004, only one Liberal was present in the Legislature, as the Tories were able to win 26 of the 27 seats in the 2000 election. This lack of any credible opposition still lasts today, as the Liberals only have 4 seats, to the Tories 23.

Perhaps the legacy of Pat Binns will be Electoral Reform. There is strong sentiment on PEI to turn to a more proportional voting system, and the Government has all but agreed to this. There have been no concrete decisions, though a commission on reform which consulted with the public suggested moving to a form of proportional representation.

External Link:

• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Pat G. Binns