It’s shaping up to be the tightest race of all seven of the province’s ridings, as all eyes are on St. John’s East.
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St. John’s East is the riding to watch on election day with a tight race between incumbent Liberal, Nick Whalen, Jack Harris of the NDP, Conservative Joedy Wall and the Green’s David Peters.
Whalen grabbed the seat from Harris in 2015 when the Liberals swept all 32 seats in Atlantic Canada. Harris held the seat for the two-terms prior. It was a tight race in 2015 with Whalen taking 46.7 per cent of the vote, and Harris 45.3 per cent.
It is expected to be much the same when the results roll in tonight, but look for Joedy Wall to be in the race as well.
Latest polls from 338canada.com show Harris and the NDP in front with just over 40 per cent (40.8), Whalen and the Liberals in second with just over 35 (35.7) per cent and Wall and the Conservatives with 20 per cent (20.2).
Whalen has been consistent in his campaign, touting the Liberal’s success over the last four years. He says their Liberal government has helped create 1.1-million jobs, lift 900,000 people out of poverty, and went to Paris to make sure of the climate change target of 1.5 degrees Celsius; all things he says he is very proud of.
Meanwhile, Harris says the Liberals haven’t followed through on a number of promises.
He says Trudeau promised electoral reform in the last election, now we have the exact opposite, as Trudeau is saying “you have to vote for me because otherwise you get him” and the same thing happening on the other side.
Harris says that’s exactly what Canadians don’t want and what they were promised to get rid of.
Wall says a Conservative Government will support the province’s offshore oil and gas industry, as the Trudeau Liberal’s have “failed” to stand up for Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore.
NDP Challenging O’Regan in St. John’s South
The race in St. John’s South – Mount Pearl is also one to watch today.
The NDP have made a surge in recent weeks, making the race between incumbent Liberal, Seamus O’Regan and the NDP’s Anne Marie Anonsen much closer than originally expected.
O’Regan had an easy victory in the 2015 election, garnering almost 58 (57.86) per cent of the vote, defeating then incumbent, Ryan Cleary of the NDP.
In the latest polls from 338canada.com, O’Regan remains in front with 40 per cent, but Anonsen is not far behind with 34 per cent.
O’Regan missed some time on the campaign trail as his father was dealing with a serious health challenge and he took time off to be by his father’s side before getting back to work last Tuesday.
Conservative, Terry Martin is in third with just under 20 per cent. The Green Party holds four per cent, while the People’s Party has just under three per cent.
Wider Liberal Leads Emerge Throughout Province
There are two close races on the province’s east coast, but for the remaining five ridings things aren’t looking as tight.
The Avalon riding has been painted red since Fabian Manning’s defeat in 2008. Liberal incumbent, Ken McDonald won the district in 2015 with a whopping 56 per cent of the vote.
This time around, McDonald is up against Conservative Matthew Chapman, Lea Mary Movelle of the NDP, the Green’s Greg Malone and Nathan Moore of the PPC.
In the latest 338 Canada poll, MacDonald is in front considerably with 47 per cent. Chapman is behind with 26 per cent, while Movelle and the NDP hold 21 per cent. Moore of the PPC and the Green’s Malone are way behind, both under 5 per cent.
The Liberals are looking to hang on to their two seats spanning from the Burin Peninsula to Central.
In recent polls, the Liberals have been pulling away from the rest of the pack, which comes as no surprise as the Districts of Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, and Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame have been red for years.
Bonavista-Burin-Trinity was created in 2013 from the electoral districts of Random-Burin-St. George’s, Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor and Avalon and has been Liberal ever since.
Incumbent, Churence Rogers won the by-election in 2017, after then-MP Judy Foote stepped down from her role for family reasons. Rogers is up against Conservative Sharon Vokey, Matthew Cooper of the NDP, and the Green’s Kelsey Reichel.
The latest polls show Rogers holding 57 per cent of the vote, Vokey with 32 per cent, the NDP 8, and the Green’s with just 3 per cent.
In Coast of Bay-Central-Notre Dame Liberal incumbent Scott Simms is showing strong support with over 55 per cent. In 2015, Simms won easily with 75 per cent of the vote. He is running against Conservative, Alex Bracci who from latest polls holds 34 per cent of the vote, the NDP’s Noel Joe has 8 per cent while the Green’s Byron White is behind with just over 2 per cent.
Grits Feeling Safe in the Big Land
And it’s the Liberals race to lose in both the Long Range Mountains, and Labrador.
The Long Range Mountains riding is a big one, spanning from St. Anthony, all the way down to Port Aux Baques. Liberal incumbent Gudie Hutchings is confident in her chances today as latest polls show her holding 53 per cent of the vote.
In 2015, she won with a whopping 74 per cent.
Hutchings is up against Conservative John Eisses, NDP’s Holly Pike, and the Green’s Lukas Nill. Polls show the Conservatives holding 31 per cent, the NDP 8, while the Green’s hold just 3 per cent.
In Labrador, Liberal incumbent Yvonne Jones’ seat looks rather safe. The Liberals have dominated the district since 1949, only going Conservative twice.
Jones is running against Conservative Larry Fleming, Michelene Gray of the NDP, and the Green’s Tyler Colbourne.
Latest polls show Jones in the lead with 54 per cent, the Conservatives in second with 28 per cent and the NDP 17 per cent, while the Green’s are showing virtually no support.
