They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive.

Prince Edward Island was a British crown colony before it joined Canadian Confederation in 1873.

It has had a system of responsible government since 1851, and the province kept its own legislature to deal with provincial matters after joining Confederation.

[2] Prince Edward Island has a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the Legislative Assembly.

[3] The premier is Prince Edward Island's head of government, and the king of Canada is its head of state and is represented by the lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island.

[4] The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island, and presides over that body.

The province had 7 premiers while a colony and 33 premiers after joining Confederation, of which 16 were from the Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservative Party and 23 were from the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party.

[7] King's party gained seats in two by-elections in 2020 and 2021, giving him a majority government.