Prince Edward Island premier Dennis King, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of P.E.I., speaks during a campaign kickoff event in Winsloe South, P.E.I., on Monday, March 6, 2023. King announced that voters on the Island will head to the polls for a provincial election on April 3. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brian McInnis
CHARLOTTETOWN – A look at Dennis King, leader of Prince Edward Island’s Progressive Conservative party.
Age: 51
Early years: King was born Nov. 1, 1971, in Georgetown, P.E.I., to Catherine (Cattie) Rachel Stevens and Lionel MacKenzie King; he has three brothers and four sisters.
Education: He graduated from Montague Regional High School in 1990, and after studying journalism in Ontario, he returned to P.E.I.
Career: King has worked for various media outlets, including as a reporter with P.E.I.’s The Eastern Graphic and The Guardian. Before starting his own public relations company in 2013, he served in several communications roles, including as communications director to former premier Pat Binns and to the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Family: King married Jana Hemphill in 1999. They have three children – Jacob, Camdyn and Callum. The couple operate Storybrook Stables, a horse farm in Brookfield, P.E.I.
Quote: “Everything is shut down. The world has stopped. What more information do you need to hear to actually heed this advice and to stay the heck home? So yes, we’re giving our law enforcement agencies every opportunity here to use the full power of the new changes and fine structure, etc., to do their jobs and to take no prisoners here.” – King on COVID-19 restrictions, on March 30, 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2023.
