Canadian federal election results in Newfoundland and Labrador

Regional profile

Newfoundland and Labrador has been a Liberal heartland since it joined Canada in 1949, with only the city of St. John's electing Progressive Conservatives on a relatively consistent basis in the past, though that support shifted to the NDP and Liberal parties in 2006 and to the NDP in the 2008 elections. Even in the 1984 Mulroney landslide, more rural and remote seats went Liberal than PC. The Conservatives picked up one seat in the 2006 election, but the Liberals still hold a majority of the seats. Party preference here has a lot to do with religion, where Catholics tend to vote Conservative and Protestants Liberal (contrary to the rest of the country). In 2008, the Anything But Conservative movement took hold here and the Conservatives lost all their seats to the Liberals and NDP. In the 2011 election, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to have the Liberals win in terms of popular vote. They however did lose 2 seats, 1 to the Tories and one to the NDP. In the 2015 election, Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal slant was taken to a new level, with Justin Trudeau's Liberals capturing every seat in the province (as well as all other Atlantic provinces), most by landslide majorities. In Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, they received 81.78% of the vote – the highest share obtained by any party in any riding in 2015.

2006 - 39th General Election

The Liberals won four seats and the Conservatives three. The open Avalon seat changed hands from the Liberals to the Tories. The seat had been held by Natural Resources Minister John Efford, who had retired. Otherwise, there was little change from the previous election.

1. ^ Russell won seat in byelection held May 24, 2005. Previously held by Liberal Lawrence O'Brien (died December 16, 2004)

2004 - 38th General Election

One of the biggest questions of the 2004 election was whether the new Conservative Party of Canada could match the old federal PC Party's level of support in Atlantic Canada. With Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial PC government unpopular over mandating an end to the previous year's public service strike, any province-wide success for 2004 was seen as unlikely. The Conservatives lost one of their three seats (previously gained in a byelection) and held their rump in St. John's. Des McGrath was seen as the NDP's best chance of electing a candidate in the province in several decades, but he still fell nearly 4000 votes short of winning Random—Burin—St. George's.

1. ^ Efford won seat in 2002 byelection; originally held by Liberal Brian Tobin
2. ^ Barnes won seat in 2002 byelection; originally held by Liberal George Baker