Trudeau leaves impression on Atlantic Canada
A Liberal-red tide swept through Atlantic Canada on Monday, taking down several Conservative and NDP seats.
Back in 1968, when Pierre Trudeau became prime minister, the Liberals only took a handful of seats. Of the 32 seats in Atlantic Canada up for grabs, voters in the vast majority of these ridings have voted for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
“This is very much more of a competitive election compared to previous years,” said Dr. Wayne Hunt, a professor of political science at Mount Allison in Sackville, N.B. “One of the metrics that was repeated ad naeuseum was that seven of 10 Canadians were ready for change.
Liberal Sean Fraser was elected in Central Nova, a seat formerly held by Peter MacKay. The race in Cumberland-Colchester was up close and personal.
Former Progressive Conservative-turned-independent-turnedLiberal Bill Casey won the seat.
Incumbent Conservative Scott Armstrong once served as campaign manager to his rival. If the Liberal Party forms a government once all the votes are counted, at least one MP elected in the Maritimes will be in the cabinet.
“Dominic LeBlanc is a strong candidate for the cabinet,” said Hunt. He’s personally and strategically close to Justin.”
Scott Brison, a former Progressive Conservative-turned-Liberal in 2003, was handily reelected in Kings-Hants. Trina Norman, 58, a voter from Mantua, N.S., who voted in Kings-Hants was pleased to see him returned to the House of Commons.
“Scott is not only our MP, but a friend, as well,” said Norman. “I think he can do great things for us here. We need infrastructure renewal to create jobs not just in the Atlantic provinces but also across this country.”
Liberal Sean Casey was reelected in Charlottetown, where Carly Levy, 25, cast her ballot.
“As Atlantic Canadians, we have very specific concerns and we face very different challenges than the rest of the country,” said Levy. “Today I confidently marked my ‘X’ for the candidate I know shares my concerns for women’s health, the environment and education.”
The “Anything But Conservative” campaign in Newfoundland and Labrador overwhelmed party in the province, which did not elect a single Conservative MP.
The last time the Liberal Party did this well in Atlantic Canada was in 1993 when Jean Chretien won 31 seats.