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Canada Votes 2008

Results, Ridings and Candidates

Bonavista - Gander - Grand Falls - Windsor

2008 Results

Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor
Party Candidate Votes Status
Updated: Nov. 7, 2008 5:00 PM EST 248/248 polls
LIB Scott Simms 20,089 Elected
CON Andrew House 4,354
NDP Jason Holley 3,577
GRN Robert O'Connor 568

Unofficial results were updated at the time shown following judicial recounts in six ridings. For more recent results, visit Elections Canada. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window.

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Situated in northeastern Newfoundland, this riding includes the Exploits Islands, Change Islands, North and South Twillingate Islands, New World Island, Fogo Island, Funk Island and Cottel Island.

Communities include historic Bonavista, the ferry hub of Lewisporte, pulp- and paper-producing Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop's Falls. Almost all residents are lifelong Newfoundlanders, with less than six per cent of residents born outside the province.

The riding is rich in natural resources, with forestry and some mining. In Gander, the international airport and the Canadian Forces base support a number of small businesses. The biggest employer, though, is retail trade, followed by health care and social assistance, and then manufacturing.

The average family income in this riding is $52,909. Unemployment was 25.1 per cent in 2006, the second-highest rate in the province. About seven per cent of residents over 25 have a university certificate or degree.

Bonavista-Exploits was created in the 2004 redistribution by combining nearly 62,000 people from Gander-Grand Falls with about 28,000 from Bonavista-Trinity-Conception.

Population: 86,394 (2006 census; a decrease of 3.7% since 2001)

Political History

Liberal Scott Simms is serving his second term in this riding after winning the 2006 election over Conservative Aaron Hynes by 4,490 votes. The Liberals and the Conservatives combined received 92 per cent of the vote.

The Liberals regained their hold on the area in 2004 with a win by Simms.

For 25 years, Gander-Grand Falls had been Liberal territory, but that all changed in a 2002 byelection, when the Progressive Conservatives' Rex Barnes squeezed past Liberal Beaton Tulk by 721 votes. The byelection had been called following Liberal George Baker's appointment to the Senate. Baker had held this riding since 1974.

Gander-Twillingate/Gander-Grand Falls:

  • 1968, 1972 - PC
  • 1974-2000 inclusive - LIB
  • 2002 byelection - PC

Bonavista-Exploits:

  • 2004 – LIB

Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor:

  • 2006 - LIB