Avalon

This riding includes Baccalieu Island, Great Colinet Island and all of the Avalon Peninsula save for the two St. John's ridings.

Most residents live in ports such as Carbonear, Bay Roberts, Placentia and Harbour Grace. The 2006 census shows that almost 94 per cent were born in Newfoundland and Labrador; fewer than one per cent come from outside Canada.

Not surprisingly, fishing was once the main employer here, though in recent years manufacturing has become dominant, followed by work in the health care and social assistance fields. Unemployment was 20.6 per cent, and the average family income $57,864. Fewer than eight per cent of the residents aged 25 or over have a university certificate or degree.

The Avalon riding was created in 2004 by carving off half of Bonavista-Trinity-Conception and combining it with parts of St. John's East and West.

Population: 78,381 (2006 census; a decrease of 1.5% since 2001)

Political History

In Bonavista-Trinity-Conception, Liberals won all but three elections in the past half-century.

The most recent upset to the Liberal hold on this riding came in 2006. Conservative Fabian Manning topped the polls when he received 51 per cent of the vote and defeated Liberal Bill Morrow by 4,814 votes.

In 2004, Liberal John Efford, who at the time was minister of natural resources, was re-elected.

Efford was first elected in a 2002 byelection in Bonavista-Trinity-Conception prompted by then-industry minister Brian Tobin's resignation from federal politics. Tobin, who served as Newfoundland and Labrador's premier from 1996 to 2000, won twice the votes of his Tory opponent in the 2000 election.

From 1988 to 2000, this seat was held by Liberal Fred Mifflin.

• 1949-65 - LIB
• 1968 - PC
• 1972, 1974, 1979, 1980 - LIB
• 1984 - PC
• 1988, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002 byelection, 2004 – LIB
• 2006 - CON