Patrick George Binns

BINNS, M.A., HONOURABLE PATRICK GEORGE, development officer, civil servant, farmer and businessperson; b. 8 October 1948 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, son of Stanley Ernest Binns and Phyliss Mae Evans; m. 8 May 1971 Carol Isobel MacMillan of Stratford, and they had four children, Rob, Mark, Brad, and Lilly; Roman Catholic. Binns, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1978 for 4'1' Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1979 and 1982. He served as Minister of Industry, Municipal Affairs, Fisheries, Environment, Labour and Housing from 1979 to 1984. In 1984 Binns resigned his seat in the Legislature to run successfully for Cardigan in that year's federal election. While a Member of the House of Commons, Binns served as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and was a member of the Standing Committees of Fisheries and Forestry, Miscellaneous Estimates, Agriculture and Parliament. He was defeated in the federal election of 1988. Binns was re-elected provincially in the general elections of 1996 and 2000 for Murray River-Gaspereaux. In 1981 he ran for the leadership of the Conservatives upon the resignation of Premier John Angus MacLean", but lost to James M. Lee". Binns returned to Island politics in 1996 when he ran for the leadership of the provincial Conservatives and was elected leader on 4 May. Following 10 years of Liberal rule, he became Premier when the Conservatives formed a government after the general election on 18 November 1996, winning 18 of 27 seats in the newly reformed Legislature. In the general election of 2000, the Conservatives received a second mandate from voters by winning 26 of the 27 seats in the Legislature. Binns received his early education at St. Dominic Savio in his home town. Subsequently he attended Meridian School in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and the University of Alberta, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Community Development. In his early career, he worked as a development officer for the Government of Alberta. In 1970 Binns came to the Island on a student exchange program. Binns worked for the Rural Development Council of Prince Edward Island in 1972 and 1974, and from 1974 to 1978 he worked for the provincial government. Binns established a sheep farm in Hopef ield and was a coordinator for the Regional Services Centres in Montague and Souris. In 1978 he left his private career to enter the political arena. In 1988, when Binns returned to a private career after his time in federal politics, he took up bean farming, and formed the companies Island Bean Limited and Pat Binns Associates. Binns is a founder and has served as an organizer for the Northumberland Fisheries Festival. He was vice-president of the Northumberland Recreation Association. In 1978 Binns received the Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Patrick and Carol Binns live on the family farm in Hopefield. Carol Binns is the daughter of M. J. (Buster) and Claire MacMillan of Stratford.