Election 2019 – Liberals Cling to Minority Government

Although a tight race, Canada’s 2019 federal election has ended with Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party holding on to a minority government. The Liberals have taken 157 seats in Monday’s election, 13 seats shy of the 170 needed for a majority.

Nearly three-quarters of the Liberal caucus will hail from Ontario and Quebec, with Alberta and Saskatchewan having no members of parliament in the government.

The Liberals continue to hold 26 seats in Atlantic Canada but lost their domination of the region. In the 2015 election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won all of Atlantic Canada’s 32 ridings, but this time lost four ridings to the Conservatives and one each to the NDP and the Green Party. Key Atlantic MPs not returning include Nick Whelan (St. John’s East) and Matt DeCourcey (Fredericton) who were defeated; and Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton-Canso), Bill Casey (Cumberland-Colchester) and Mark Eyking (Sydney-Victoria) who retired.

For the first time in 40 years, the party that received the most votes – the Conservatives – did not also win the largest share of seats. While the Conservatives received 34% of the popular vote, the Liberals trailed closely behind with 33%.

With 121 Members of Parliament, the Conservatives now hold more seats than they did following the 2015 federal election. Conservative MP’s are, however, heavily concentrated in Saskatchewan, Alberta and rural Ontario. The party failed to make any gains in Quebec.

The Bloc Québécois also enjoyed a surge, ending the day with 32 seats - 22 more than in 2015; now making it the third party in the House of Commons.

The NDP lost 15 seats in this election, now holding just 24 ridings. Despite moving to fourth party status in the House of Commons, the NDP still retains enough seats to hold the balance of power in a Liberal minority government.

The Greens won three seats and for the first time won a seat in New Brunswick, with Jenica Atwin stealing the riding of Fredericton from Liberal incumbent Matt DeCourcey.

A full list of 2019 Atlantic Canada’s Members of Parliament includes: (* denotes MP’s who were re-elected)

Newfoundland and Labrador

Kenneth McDonald, Avalon Liberal* Churence Rogers, Bonavista-Burin-Trinity Liberal* Scott Simms, Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame Liberal* Yvonne Jones, Labrador Liberal* Gudie Hutchings, Long Range Mountains Liberal* Jack Harris, St. John’s East NDP Seamus O’Reagan, St. John’s South-Mount Pearl Liberal*

New Brunswick

Serge Cormier, Acadie-Bathurst Liberal* Dominic LeBlanc, Beauséjour Liberal* Jenica Atwin, Fredericton Green Rob Moore, Fundy Royal Conservative René Arseneault, Madawaska-Restigouche Liberal* Pat Finnigan, Miramichi-Grand Lake Liberal* Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Liberal* John Williamson, New Brunswick Southwest Conservative Wayne Long, Saint John-Rothesay Liberal* Richard Bragdon, Tobique-Mactaquac Conservative

Nova Scotia Mike Kelloway, Cape Breton-Canso Liberal Sean Fraser, Central Nova Liberal* Lenore Zann, Cumberland-Colchester Liberal Darren Fisher, Dartmouth-Cole Harbour Liberal* Andy Fillmore, Halifax Liberal* Geoff Regan, Halifax West Liberal* Kody Blois, Kings-Hants Liberal Darrell Samson, Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook Liberal* Bernadette Jordan, South Shore-St. Margarets Liberal* Jaime Battiste, Sydney-Victoria Liberal Chris d’Entremont, West Nova Conservative

Prince Edward Island

Lawrence MacAulay, Cardigan Liberal* Sean Casey, Charlottetown Liberal* Bobby Morrissey, Egmont Liberal* Wayne Easter, Malpeque Liberal*