The recent provincial byelection said a lot about politics on P.E.I. But it wasn’t found in the speeches, the ads or the debates. In fact, the most important issue was never mentioned at all.

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Land use, affordability, and IRAC dominated the conversation. Town halls focused on zoning. Social media focused on process. Media coverage focused on visible grievances. That’s what all the parties chose to highlight.

But one issue never surfaced: the provincial debt.

P.E.I.’s auditor general, Darren Noonan, has been sounding the alarm. The province now carries $3 billion in debt. He warns that this level of borrowing is crowding out funding for health care, education, housing and infrastructure. It slows economic growth, pushes costs onto future generations. He urges politicians to discuss this openly because the provincial debt matters more than any zoning dispute or regulatory appeal.

Noonan has been clear: this problem will not fix itself. It won’t disappear in a year or a........

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