Polling stations have opened across Newfoundland and Labrador for this year’s provincial election.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. NT and 7:30 a.m. in most of Labrador on Tuesday morning across 40 districts.
Jeanette Miranda, a voter in St. John’s East-Quidi Vidi, told CBC News she found voting to be quick and easy. She said she voted with the intention of getting more women into the House of Assembly.
“That’s all I’ve been doing all year, has been voting in women,” Miranda said. “It’s time for the old boys to go. Yeah, things get done when women are in power, and that’s, to me, the most important thing.”
Voters Elizabeth Oliver and Noel Roy said their priority was to vote for an MHA they believe they can trust.
“Having an MHA that you know and trust is, I think, the important thing,” Roy said. “I don’t think there was any overwhelming issue. There are a whole pile of them.”
Party leaders were among the first to cast their ballots on Tuesday.
Liberal Leader John Hogan voted in the east end of St. John’s alongside his wife, Gill. He told reporters that he is confident in his party.
“We have the best slate of candidates maybe that this province has ever seen from coast to coast to coast,” he said. “We have new faces and some senior people who bring great experience, and its a good mix between new and old.”
He also took one last jab at the Tories and their election platform.
Liberal Leader John Hogan voted in St. John’s on Tuesday morning alongside his wife, Gill. (Heather Gillis/CBC)
“When you look at the Conservative plan, of course, they’ve decided to cut things like the future fund and not look after the future generations of this province,” Hogan said.
In contrast, he called the Liberal plan complete, put together and forward looking.
Wakeham in Kippens
In Kippens, PC Leader Tony Wakeham voted alongside some of his political staffers, also marking the second anniversary of his selection as the party’s leader.
With a smile on his face, he told reporters the PCs had a great campaign.
“People have told us that it’s time for a change and today they will cast their ballots and we will look forward to tonight’s results,” Wakeham said, adding he is confident that he will be re-elected to represent the people of Stephenville–Port au Port.
PC Leader Tony Wakeham voted in Kippens, N.L. on Tuesday. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
With a full slate of candidates, Wakeham expects to see some red seats switch to blue.
“I think we’re going to surprise a few people in a few districts potentially, but our candidates have been fantastic,” he said.
Wakeham did not mention any of his political opponents when speaking with reporters. Instead, he congratulated candidates of all parties for taking a shot at provincial politics.
“I want to throw a bouquet out to all the candidates in all the parties,” he said. “We know everyone can’t win, but the fact you’ve taken the step to do that speaks volumes for our province.”
NDP Leader Jim Dinn voted privately alongside his wife in the centre-city area of St. John’s.
One year, three elections
It’s been a big year for elections in Newfoundland and Labrador.
First, there was a federal election in April, followed by provincewide municipal elections last month. Now, Newfoundland and Labrador voters are heading back to the polls one more time Tuesday to elect the next provincial government.
The Liberal Party, which has been in power since 2015 — first under former premier Dwight Ball, followed by former premier Andrew Furey, who was succeeded by current Liberal Leader John Hogan — is hoping to hold onto power for a fourth consecutive government, against a Progressive Conservative Party led by Tony Wakeham and the New Democratic Party led by Jim Dinn.
The 28-day campaign marked each leader’s first time out on the campaign trail as the head of a party — and all of them were making making big-money promises.
Hogan’s Liberals are running on the memorandum of understanding signed with Quebec — a landmark deal which could replace the 1969 Churchill Falls Deal and bring in a lot of money and jobs to the province.
Hogan says his government will use that money to pay down the province’s debt, create 10,000 jobs, and reduce the cost of power bills by spending $70 million to cut the harmonized sales tax for residential customers.
Read more here: All accounted: Liberals last to release costed election platform, hours before debate
Wakeham’s PCs are running on the promise to fix problems caused by what he calls a decade of Liberal failure affecting everything from the health-care system to taxes and public safety.
In their election platform, the PCs have committed to spending millions to expand the province’s nursing school, and to better staff emergency rooms and rural medical facilities. The party has also promised millions to pay for 46 additional police officers and to increase the seniors’ benefit by 20 per cent, indexing it to inflation.
Read more here: PCs unveil $284M election platform, hours before leaders’ debate
Dinn’s NDP promises to save the province $400 million over four years by phasing out travel nurses while promising to hire 1,000 health professionals, and offer paid work-terms for nurses, social workers, and teachers.
NDP Leader Jim Dinn voted alongside his wife, Michelle. (Submitted by NL NDP)
He also plans to defund private shelters and invest in 1,000 publicly owned affordable housing units annually, while increasing the minimum wage to $22 per hour.
Read more here: NDP platform promises big surpluses, tax relief and spending shakeup
The provincial election marks the third and last scheduled election to take place across Newfoundland and Labrador in 2025.
Voting runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. NT today, or 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. AT in most of Labrador.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador will have full coverage of the election results on Tuesday evening.
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