Later that year, a founding convention was held with York South MP Joseph Noseworthy as guest speaker.

The party only contested five seats in the 1951 election, however, due to bad road conditions and high deposits.

The CCF's candidate that year in 3rd Prince, Hilda Ramsay, became the first woman ever to run in a PEI provincial election.

The 1968 federal election saw Charlottetown teacher David Hall in Hillsborough make the party's strongest showing.

Dr. Herb Dickieson took over as leader, and changed the name of the party from the PEI NDP, to the "Island New Democrats".

Robichaud resigned as leader on June 23, 2005, for health reasons after battling inoperable lung cancer for two years and died shortly afterward.

The party announced it would appoint an interim leader at or before its annual general meeting in November 2007, and hold a leadership convention in April 2008.

On October 13, 2012, the NDP elected Michael Redmond as the new leader by a vote of 152 to 28 against party activist Trevor Leclerc.

[3] The party ran a full slate of candidates (27), but was again shut out of the legislature when it failed to win a seat in the 2015 election.