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RCMP investigating contributions to P.E.I.'s Progressive Conservatives

  • The Canadian Press

  • Canadian Press

  • October 6, 2026

An RCMP collar tab pin is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

CHARLOTTETOWN -- Police are investigating contributions made last year to Prince Edward Island's governing Progressive Conservative party, Mounties confirmed Tuesday.

RCMP spokesperson Scott Ferris said Elections P.E.I. approached the police force in late August. Investigators are reviewing the file, and it's not clear when they might finish, Ferris said in an interview.

Tim Garrity, the province's chief electoral officer, said his office always conducts an internal audit of contributions logged by all of the province's political parties. If that audit uncovers any problems, the elections authority passes the file on to the RCMP and the province's Crown attorney's office, Garrity said in an emailed statement.

"There were irregularities discovered with the 2025 contributions," Garrity said, though he offered no further details.

The province's Progressive Conservative party has been in power since 2019. They currently hold 18 of 27 seats in the legislature.

Robert Larsen, the party's president, shared a statement saying Elections P.E.I. had flagged three issues with the organization's 2025 contributions.

Seven donations allegedly exceeded the contribution limit, which was set at $3,350 for individuals in 2025, according to the Elections P.E.I. website. As well, the party received money from someone in Nova Scotia who bought a ticket to a fundraising dinner, and that money has since been returned, the statement said.

The party also filed its 2025 contribution records a day late, it added.

The Tories are co-operating with Elections P.E.I. and the party has strengthened its financial and reporting procedures, the statement said.

Earlier this year, P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz said his government alerted the RCMP about a former cabinet minister who was dumped over a perceived conflict of interest after approving an altered redevelopment plan for a Summerside golf course.

Lantz also announced he was suspending the member, Gilles Arsenault, from the Tory caucus and asking the province’s conflict of interest commissioner to investigate.

Ferris said Tuesday that the RCMP's investigation into the party's contributions last year had nothing to do with any other case.

"This is a separate, stand-alone investigation," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2026.

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