During the PEI Green Party leadership debate, Hannah Bell stood firmly by her 2023 critique of the party’s election preparedness, calling her remarks an honest assessment meant to strengthen the movement.
In an interview with The Canadian Press published by the Toronto Star, Bell said the party “wasn’t ready for this campaign,” citing insufficient grassroots organizing and planning following the Greens’ historic 2019 breakthrough. “You need to start planning for the next election the minute you finish an election,” she said. Bell warned that the party had “missed an opportunity to build momentum.”
“You need to start planning for the next election the minute you finish an election.”
— Hannah Bell, 2023 interview with The Canadian Press
During the leadership debate, Bell was asked directly about that interview — and her response was unapologetic.
“I said it publicly because I believed it was important to be honest with Islanders about where we were as a party,” Bell said. “I stand by every word. She explained that her comments stemmed from a desire to help the party grow, not to tear it down. “You can’t change what you won’t name,” she told the audience. “The article wasn’t an attack — it was an invitation to do better.””
Bell emphasized that her critique came from a place of deep care for the party and frustration at the missed potential after becoming the first Green Official Opposition in North America in 2019. She pointed to the party’s failure to build local district associations and expand beyond urban centres as key reasons the party stalled.
“We were focused on policy and governance but not enough on building people power — that’s what I want to change,” she said.
Her opponent, Matt MacFarlane, acknowledged Bell’s prior experience in the legislature and said her candidness was a strength. However, he suggested the party should now look forward rather than backward.
“This race is about where we go next,” MacFarlane said, “and how we inspire people again.”
Still, Bell’s remarks drew a clear line between candid leadership and silence in the face of challenges.
“If we’re going to rebuild trust and grow our movement, we need to be honest — even when it’s uncomfortable,” she said. “Leadership is about telling the truth.”
“Leadership is about telling the truth.”
— Hannah Bell
“We Can’t Miss Another Opportunity”
Bell’s decision to revisit her 2023 critique head-on during the debate wasn’t just a defence of past remarks — it was a central part of her campaign message. For Bell, the Green Party’s struggle to maintain momentum after 2019 is both a cautionary tale and a call to action.
“I do feel, and I have been saying this internally and externally, that the Green Party has missed an opportunity to build momentum in advance of an election,” she had told The Canadian Press in 2023.
During the leadership debate, she expanded on that thought, saying the failure wasn’t simply about poor timing or a surprise election call — it was about organizational inexperience and an inward focus on policy at the expense of people.
“You can have the best platform in the world, but if you don’t have people organized on the ground to carry it, it’s not going anywhere,” Bell told members during the debate. “We need to be out there in communities, not just in the legislature.”
She noted that the Greens had only established “a handful” of district associations prior to the 2023 campaign — a structural weakness that left the party scrambling when the writ dropped. Bell framed this as a systemic issue, not a personal failure, and highlighted the need for long-term planning and political maturity.
“We’ve done amazing things with very little — imagine what we could do with a fully built, province-wide grassroots organization,” she said.
From Internal Critique to Vision for Renewal
Bell’s tone in the debate was reflective but determined. She didn’t shy away from the party’s electoral setbacks but instead used them to sharpen her argument for why she should lead: experience, clarity, and a commitment to building for the long haul.
Her campaign, she said, is about turning lessons into strategy.
“I didn’t leave politics because I stopped believing — I stepped aside to reflect, regroup, and find new ways to contribute,” Bell said. “Now I’m stepping up because I believe we can do better, and I know how to make that happen.”
In contrast, Matt MacFarlane’s debate pitch emphasized renewal through community outreach and electoral ambition, but he offered a less critical assessment of past missteps. He positioned himself as a “bridge-builder” and praised the party’s past work without delving deeply into its structural shortcomings.
Bell’s stance offered a sharp contrast — not in tone, but in substance. She insisted that acknowledging where things went wrong is the only way to rebuild.
“We can’t afford to treat honesty as disloyalty,” she said. “When you love something — whether it’s your party or your province — you tell the truth, even when it’s hard.”
A Test of Strategy, Experience, and Trust
The leadership race has thus become a referendum not just on personality or vision, but on how to interpret the past — and how to use that history to shape the party’s future.
Bell is positioning herself as the candidate who has been in the trenches and isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said. Her decision to stand by her 2023 comments — and to double down on them — is a gamble on transparency and political maturity.
“We made history once,” Bell said. “Let’s do it again — but this time, let’s make it stick.”
Whether Bell’s forthright style resonates with members remains to be seen. But in this leadership race, she’s not distancing herself from the past — she’s turning it into a campaign asset.
