Liberals, PCs neck-and-neck in Newfoundland and Labrador’s general election

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The air is thin at the Days Inn as the Progressive Conservatives bob in and out of the lead.

Party president Shane Skinner said he’s “about to have heartburn,” laughing as he watches results come in from the other districts. Just minutes later, he was clapping.

He’s nervously checking his phone as the numbers shuffle.

To have a chance, the Progressive Conservatives needed gains in rural regions of the island and in Labrador.

As we get deeper into the night, that is on track to happen.

The Tories are leading in three seats on the west coast: St. George’s-Humber, St. Barbe-L’Anse aux Meadows and Humber Gros-Morne.

All would be pickups from the Liberals. Humber-Gros Morne was held by the last two Liberal premiers.

In Labrador, the Tories lead in three seats. They only held one in 2021.

This is her fourth straight win in the district. Parsons served in cabinet under former leader Andrew Furey and Hogan, most recently as minister of rural economic development and labour.

As for Independents: Paul Lane is projected to return to the House of Assembly in Mount Pearl-Southlands. Lane first took a seat in the legislature in 2011, switching between the PCs and Liberals before sitting as an Independent.

With a number of incumbents projected to win their districts an hour after polls closed, Liberal campaign chair Judy Morrow says tonight is a nail-biter.

“We knew from the beginning that this was going to be a district-by-district ground game,” she said.

Still, Morrow said she’s “cautiously optimistic" about a Liberal win.

Two more incumbent cabinet ministers have been projected to win their seats in the metro region.

Jamie Korab is also projected to win Waterford Valley. He was most recently the minister responsible for seniors and the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. Korab was also tapped by the premier to head up a task force focused on rebuilding areas of Conception Bay North affected by the Kingston fire.

Davis has served multiple roles in government, with the latest being minister of education and early childhood development. He’s been in government since 2015.

The room is pretty full at the Gower Theatre viewing area in downtown St. John’s, as NDP supporters erupt in loud claps and cheers as the early results show O’Leary performing well.

Platters of fruit, veggies and sandwiches have also arrived for spectators, who are enjoying the snacks with a beer or a cocktail. Upbeat rock and pop music plays from the speakers, but people are mostly glued to the TV as the results trickle in.

NDP candidate Sheilagh O’Leary says St. John’s East-Quidi Vidi is looking for new leadership

NDP candidate Sheilagh O’Leary and leader Jim Dinn went door-to-door campaigning on Saturday. O’Leary says high rents are a big concern for residents of St. John’s Centre.

speech production of come together races, this is defining up to be a come together single — and remember, this is controverted election territory.

Former NDP leader Alison Coffin lost in 2021 by 53 votes to Liberal John Abbott in what would become an infamous election. Held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the chaos included people voting with sticky notes, registering for ballots using selfies, and a shortage of envelopes for the provincewide mail-in election.

In the aftermath, Coffin and others filed a court challenge to the results, which ended with Abbott resigning to resolve the controverted election lawsuit.

Sheilagh O’Leary is now in tight against Liberal John Whelan, with O’Leary leading by a slim margin early in the night.

A small crowd of Liberal supporters are watching close races play out with bated breath — including in the district of Ferryland, where Liberal Cheryl O’Brien took an early lead.

“Come on Cheryl,” one supporter said.

If O'Brien wins, it’ll be the first time the district hasn’t voted PC since the 1970s.

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