Conservatives make slight gains in Atlantic Canada
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 1:16 AM ET
CBC News
In the end Atlantic Canada didn't change much. Results from Election 2006 turned out a lot like 2004, with just two seats changing hands from 18 months ago – both of those Liberal losses and Conservative gains.
The official final tally has the Liberals elected in 20 ridings, the Conservatives in nine and the NDP in three, compared with 2004 when Atlantic Canadians sent 22 Liberals, seven Conservatives and three New Democrats to Ottawa. The Conservatives also increased their share of the vote - with almost all of the gains coming from the Liberals.
CBC Ottawa bureau chief Keith Boag reported Monday night that the Conservatives were hoping for a significant breakthrough on the East Coast, hoping to come away with as many as 12 seats.
Supporters cheer as they watch early election results come in at the Conservative election night party in Calgary, Monday Jan.23, 2006 in Calgary. (CP photo)
But that didn't happen.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Liberals won four seats, compared with five in 2004.
Fabian Manning, called a rebel in Newfoundland politics, took the hotly contested riding of Avalon. His win was the only gain from the Liberals – and the only change in the province. But it was also an indication of growing strength in the Conservative vote in the region.
Karen Harper, who worked in St. John's South-Mount Pearl on the successful re-election campaign of Conservative incumbent Loyola Hearn, said their campaign went extremely well. "The response has been overwhelming for us," she told CBC News.
Fears that weather might have been a determining factor in this winter election proved unfounded. Newfoundland had a mostly sunny, crisp winter day. P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia also had unseasonably warm weather with just a few flurries.
In political terms, Prince Edward Island didn't change. It re-elected all four of its Liberal MPs. Islanders haven't elected a Conservative since 1984.
Nova Scotia also maintained the status quo with six Liberals, three Conservatives and two New Democrats. But the riding of West Nova went down to the wire. It took more than three hours to count the vote with Liberal Robert Thibault coming out ahead.
In New Brunswick, the Conservatives knocked off the Liberals in the riding of Tobique-Mactaquac. The province will be sending six Liberals, four Conservatives and one New Democrat to the nation's capital.
- LIVE ANALYSIS: CBC.ca's Reality Check Team on election day developments
Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay was optimistic when asked to interpret the results from the region. "Sure," he said, "we'd love to have more numbers, but we're satisfied."
Maybe one person summed up the eight weeks of campaigning best.
Clifford Brison, the father of re-elected Public Works Minister Scott Brison, when asked what it was like being the father of someone running for public office, said with a grin: "Hellish."
