The Liberals kept much of Nova Scotia red on Monday as they retained 10 of their 11 seats in Canada’s 43rd general election.
The federal election in 2015 saw a red wave sweep across Atlantic Canada as the Liberals took all 32 seats in the region’s four provinces.
The only seat they failed to keep this time around was in West Nova, where former MLA Chris d’Entremont won the seat for the Conservatives, earning 39.3 per cent of the vote.
Incumbent Liberal candidate Sean Fraser was declared elected in his riding of Central Nova, defeating Conservative star candidate George Canyon in a race that garnered national attention.
Canyon was recruited as a Tory candidate in late August, but was unable to garner the support needed in the once Conservative stronghold.
“To have the opportunity to be the voice of the constituents of Central Nova is absolutely the greatest honour ever bestowed upon me,” Canyon said in his concession speech. “For hundreds of years our families have worked together in harmony in Central Nova, and we need to continue to do so no matter our political affiliation.”
Also returning to Ottawa is Liberal incumbent Andy Fillmore, who was declared elected over NDP candidate Christine Saulnier.
Fillmore earned 40.4 per cent of the support from his riding, totaling 23,088 votes. Saulnier gathered 16,594 votes.
“I’m just ecstatically grateful for the people of Halifax that have asked me to to go there to Ottawa for another turn to represent them,” Fillmore said after the win. “We have so much more work to do. We’ve built on a great record but there’s more work to do we’re going to go further, faster and I can’t wait to get started.”
Former provincial NDP MLA Lenore Zann edged out a 453-vote win for the Liberals over Conservative Scott Armstrong, in what was a neck-and-neck race throughout the evening. Zann, however, pulled away early Tuesday morning, earning 16,672 and 36.7 per cent of the riding’s support.
Zann, who served as a member of the Nova Scotia NDP for nearly 10 years, resigned from the party and sat as an independent after announcing her candidacy for the Liberals in June.
The Liberals also retained a seat in South Shore-St. Margarets, where incumbent and cabinet minister Bernadette Jordan was declared elected fairly early. Jordan was named minister of rural economic development earlier this year — a move that was widely seen as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s attempt to secure support in the riding.
In 2015, Jordan took the riding from the Conservatives, who had held it since 1997. This year, she earned 21,887 votes and 41.7 per cent of the riding’s support.
“We’ve worked hard for Atlantic Canada, we’ve delivered for Atlantic Canada, we’ve made sure that we’re addressing the issues in Atlantic Canada, that’s what we’re focused on and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” Jordan said.
In what was supposed to be a close race, Liberal incumbent Darrell Samson was declared elected over NDP candidate Matt Strickland. The riding was an NDP stronghold prior to 2015.
The Liberals eked out a narrow victory in Sydney-Victoria, with Jaime Battiste garnering 31 per cent of the votes compared to Conservative candidate Eddie Orrell’s 27 per cent.
Liberals also picked up seats in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, Halifax West and Kings-Hants, all of which polling indicated was likely to happen.