Over the months that Charlottetown’s municipal candidates have been campaigning, concerns about the role of technology have arisen. Early in the process, the online gambling platform Polymarket launched a bet on who would be the winner of the mayor’s race. Artificial intelligence has also appeared in social media posts, raising concerns about potential misinformation.
Subscribe now to access this story and more:
Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
The Guardian asked the seven mayoral candidates about their thoughts on the use and regulations around these emerging technologies during the election. We also asked Elections P.E.I. if there are any regulations around AI or online gambling on elections. There are none.
Responses are in the order the paper received them from candidates. Incumbent Philip Brown, Mitchell Tweel and Cecil Villard did not reply by deadline.
The Guardian asked candidates about concerns around gambling on the election, laws they would like to see and whether enforcement could work in P.E.I. for a company based internationally.
Daniel Mullen posted the Polymarket bet on social media early in the campaign, suggesting Elections P.E.I. should look into it. In his answers, Mullen said it is possible to do something about it, even though Polymarket is not in Canada. He pointed to Ontario taking regulatory action against the company under its securities law.
“My issue is that it appears that thousands of dollars have changed hands on what is essentially betting on the outcome of our municipal election,” Mullen said.
Anthony Fitzpatrick said gambling on elections creates a financial incentive to working for or against a campaign.
“Voting should always be based on what people believe in and what the future holds, not what makes anyone the most money.”
But he also said there is little that can be done, and bans can push people to illegal gambling. If anything, the province could look at expanding current gambling laws, and more education would be helpful, Fitzpatrick said.
Daniel Cousins said the Polymarket mayor’s bet is funny, and people have and will bet on anything. At the same time, Cousins said addiction gets a lot of attention during elections, and gambling can be an addiction.
“There is often pushback against safe consumption sites, but bars and casinos are safe consumption sites or should be. For something like this, education is probably the best approach to help people remember that this isn’t a poll and to gamble responsibly.”
Amir Zuccolo said she is concerned about the Polymarket bet, and people who are unaware may think it is some kind of online poll.
She also says there should be regulation and education around online gambling and politics. One tool could be banning the IP address of gambling websites the way Netflix denies access to material that is only available in other countries.
“Of course, people could use VPNs, but at least this would create some friction.”
The Guardian also asked candidates their thoughts on the use of AI for campaigns and concerns about misinformation along with potential benefits and need for provincial policies.
Mullen said AI is pervasive in today’s world, and the issue comes when it is used to create images that are realistic and pretend to depict real people. Mullen has encountered AI on the campaign trail, including images that parodied him. So long as the images they are based on are real and not hateful, he is not concerned, he said.
“But if someone created a fake video of any candidate, no matter what the reason, I think there should be clear consequences when the intent is to mislead.”
He also called on the three levels of government to get on the same page and set AI standards to help ensure elections remain free and fair.
Fitzpatrick said AI should be banned outright for all government and election uses. Misinformation is so common that many people struggle to identify it, and there should never be a question when it comes from government sources. Information that AI uses is also plagiarized from people and recycled, and it is bad for critical thinking skills, he said.
“I have had a significant concern about my image being used in many negative ways which makes a real fear of publishing media, but it is necessary to reach as many people as possible to try to stop that from happening to anyone else.”
Cousins said they are not using AI and do not care to. AI in election materials makes them all look the same, and the best research comes from talking to residents. There needs to be regulation around government AI use immediately, Cousins said.
Cousins has also been the target of bots and says misinformation is always a risk. Early in the election, an AI comic on social media depicted the then-six candidates as various kinds of imposter.
“I took it with good humour. AI seems to think I have a third arm, and while that might be helpful, it is not true. It also mixed up aspects of us,” Cousins said.
Zuccolo said using AI as a search engine is acceptable so long as users understand AI has a tendency to agree with users and can be misleading or inaccurate. Users need to check AI answers against trusted sources, she said.
Zuccolo also said AI can make it harder to decipher misinformation and disinformation, which is concerning.
“We have seen AI used to produce deep fakes, particularly pornography, which could be particularly damaging to female-identifying candidates.”
She said there should be policies around using AI for preparing campaign materials, and there have been AI-generated photos and graphics used during the campaign.
Logan MacLean is a municipal reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at lmaclean@postmedia.com and followed on X @loganmaclean94.
Are these clogs worth the price tag?
Cycling through the Laurentians is a spectacular way to discover the region’s glorious fall foliage
Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård bring the fable to the big-screen
Condé Nast Traveler gave these striking spots the stamp of approval in its Readers’ Choice Awards
Local labels offering stylish, made-in-Canada T-shirts, sweats and more
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2026 PNI Atlantic News, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
About the Author
