NDP Leader Lorraine Michael reclaimed her St. John's-area district Tuesday, but once again she will be the only New Democrat in the house.
"We didn't do it this time, but we will do it the next time," Michael said to a round of applause from supporters Tuesday, the night of the Newfoundland and Labrador election.
NDP Leader Lorraine Michael spent most of her time on the campaign trail in the Metro area. She has been re-elected.
(CBC)
She said she would stand up for people across the province on various issues, including health care.
Michael held on to Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, which had been the party's only seat in the house of assembly before the election was called.
In unofficial results, the New Democrat took 57 per cent of the vote, or 927 more votes than Tory challenger Maria Afonso.
Michael first won the St. John's-area district in a byelection last November, only months after being chosen party leader.
The NDP was hoping to take back a district in western Labrador it lost to the Tories earlier this year. Labrador West, once known as Menihek, was where the party elected its first MHA in 1984.
But Jim Baker hung on to the seat for the Tories in Tuesday's vote. He first won it in a March byelection, after New Democrat Randy Collins resigned.
The NDP was counting on support from the Labrador party, which chose not to run a candidate and backed the New Democrats instead.
Michael argued that Labradorians who believed the Tories' energy plan had little benefit for local residents would have a better chance of being heard from the NDP benches, rather than the government backbenches.
Campaign focus
Throughout the campaign, the NDP strategy was to promote Michael as the person who could hold the Tories accountable.
In fact, when she defeated a Tory candidate to win the Signal Hill byelection, Premier Danny Williams said the NDP had proved it was "the real Opposition."
But the NDP had a small purse to win over voters. What little money it had, it spent on districts it believed it could win.
Michael spent most of her time campaigning in the St. John's metropolitan area, but made a road trip to Burin-Placentia West, and later to central Newfoundland and western Labrador.
The party, which spent just $150,000 in the entire 2003 campaign, put Michael in a minivan, while her political rivals travelled around the province in buses, planes and even helicopters. The NDP said it couldn't afford TV ads either.
Money wasn't the only thing the NDP was short of.
The party fielded only 36 candidates, out of a possible 48. Only a handful had a formal campaign structure.
Related
| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 43 | 0 | 43 | 69.56% |
| LIB | 3 | 0 | 3 | 21.98% |
| NDP | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8.21% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .25% |
| Last Update:October 9, 10:58:12 PM NDT | ||||
| Unofficial results were updated at the time shown. For more recent results, visit Elections NL. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window. |
NL Votes 2007 »
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