As voters head to the polls Monday, attention is being paid to the four provinces in Atlantic Canada, which are known to offer an early indication of how elections will go.
There are 32 seats in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Due to time zones, these ridings report their results first.
At dissolution, 23 of those 32 seats were held by Liberal MPs. The Conservatives held eight seats.
Meanwhile, there was one vacant seat in Halifax after Liberal MP Andy Fillmore stepped down to run for — and eventually win — mayor of Halifax.
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The Liberals have had a strong showing on the East Coast. In 2015, the party — led by Justin Trudeau — won every riding in these provinces and had an overwhelming majority government.
In the two elections since, the Liberals have lost some support, but political watchers do believe the party will stay strong in the region.
“I feel like Atlantic Canada could provide a snapshot for how the Liberals and the Conservatives end up duking it out,” said Dalhousie University political scientist, Lori Turnbull. “I would think that it’s a very representative competition that will resonate across much of the country.”
A survey from Halifax-based polling firm, Narrative Research, conducted on April 21 and 22, found the Liberals holding a strong lead.
When considering voting intentions among decided voters and those who voted in advance polls, 66 per cent said they backed Mark Carney’s Liberals, while 26 per cent said they supported Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives and six per cent indicated support for the NDP.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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