ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The polls have closed in the Newfoundland and Labrador election.
Progressive Conservative Leader Kathy Dunderdale, who took over nearly a year ago after the wildly popular Danny Williams quit politics, is seeking the party’s third straight majority government.
The New Democrats led by Lorraine Michael are also hoping to break new electoral ground as they aim for official Opposition status.
The Liberal party, meanwhile, started the campaign mired in debt and a last-minute leadership change.
Kevin Aylward took over from Yvonne Jones in August when she suddenly stepped down to focus on her recovery from breast cancer.
At dissolution, there were 43 Tories in the legislature compared to four Liberals and one New Democrat.
Dunderdale joked earlier in the day that it was a surreal but easy choice as she marked an X beside her own name in the St. John’s-area district of Virginia Waters.
Speaking to reporters after voting at a junior high school, Dunderdale said her bid to become the first woman elected premier of the province has gone as planned.
“It has been a wonderful campaign. I’ve got to say that I enjoyed every moment of it.”
When asked if popular former boss Danny Williams played a role in the three-week campaign, she said that she didn’t speak with him.
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Still, she acknowledged his influence.
“I was involved in his government for eight years and I learned many lessons from him,” Dunderdale said. “And, you know, I put those to good use but … it’s a new day and it’s a new team and it’s important that we have the look and the feel of what it’s going to be for the future.
“So it was important that stamp be on this campaign.”
Michael, 68, campaigned on a promise to impose a three-per-cent surtax on the province’s lucrative offshore oil sector and redistribute that wealth to pay for improved health services. That position stoked some controversy on the campaign trail, particularly after she admitted she didn’t seek a legal opinion before committing to it. But she stood by her share-the-wealth message.
“I think we were visible, we were focused,” she said after she cast her ballot. “People knew exactly where we stood on issues.”
Aylward, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister, campaigned hard on two key messages. He believes rural Newfoundland is being left behind, and that the $6.2-billion Muskrat Falls hydro deal in Labrador is a bad bargain that will raise light bills and pile on provincial debt. But political observers said Muskrat Falls simply did not resonate with most voters.
Dunderdale ran a classic front-runner’s campaign without any big gaffes or major promises. She found herself fending off opposition attacks over the viability of the Muskrat Falls project, her ties with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the plight of the province’s rural outports, but they did not stick.
She is the fourth incumbent provincial premier to get re-elected this fall. And since she took over for Williams last December, three other women have also become premiers.
Going into the campaign, the Tories held 43 seats in the legislature compared to four Liberals and one New Democrat.
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