ST. JOHN’S – Voters in Newfoundland and Labrador showed they were in the mood for a big change on Tuesday by ousting the governing Liberals after ten years in power.
As the final ballots were counted at the conclusion of the autumn election campaign, the Progressive Conservatives led by Tony Wakeham took 21 seats, good enough for a slim majority in the 40-seat legislature. The Tories edged into a small lead after a nail-biting, see-saw battle, and then pulled ahead of John Hogan’s Liberals for the win.
The Liberals were elected in 15 ridings. The New Democrats won two seats; two Independents were also elected.
Wakeham won over voters by consistently criticizing Hogan’s decision to endorse a proposed multibillion-dollar energy deal with Quebec, saying the draft agreement just wasn’t good enough. The former health-care bureaucrat pledged to have the tentative agreement reviewed by an independent third party, pointing to lessons learned from the province’s previous energy project failures.
But Wakeham also spent much of the campaign focusing on pocketbook issues, repeatedly asking voters whether they were better off under the Liberals, who were seeking a fourth consecutive term in office.
The Tory win reflects a trend that started in the spring, when the federal Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre won three rural seats in Newfoundland — a gain of two seats — despite the federal Liberals’ election win under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
As well, the provincial Liberal campaign was partially hobbled by the loss of several cabinet ministers who quit before the election race began, including Siobhan Coady, John Haggie, Gerry Byrne, Andrew Parsons and Tom Osborne.
Health care, housing and the cost of living all figured prominently during the campaign, but the fate of the Quebec energy deal seemed to dominated discussion on the hustings and during last week’s leaders debate.
Hogan, a 47-year-old lawyer, had said the proposed energy agreement between Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro could inject $225 billion into the provincial treasury over 50 years, providing economic salvation for the financially fragile province.
Hogan has said the memorandum of understanding between the two utilities was “the election issue.”
The tentative agreement would see Hydro-Québec pay much more for power from the Churchill Falls plant in Labrador, which the Quebec government helped build in the late 1960s. The deal is also expected to lead to new hydroelectric projects along the Churchill River.
It will also terminate the existing Churchill Falls contract 16 years earlier than expected, a change that recognizes the unfairness of Hydro-Québec buying the majority of the electricity at rock-bottom prices for decades.
One of Wakeham’s other priorities will be dealing with the province’s ballooning debt, which is expected to reach almost $20 billion next year. That’s the largest per capita provincial debt in the country.
The New Democratic Party, led by 65-year-old former teacher Jim Dinn, was not expected to be a contender in the election, having never held more than five seats in the legislature. But they did add one seat to their total on Tuesday.
“The fact is, guess what? It’s going to be the NDP putting forward the ideas that will benefit all people of this province,” Dinn told his supporters in St. John’s on Tuesday night.
When the election was called, the Liberals held 19 of the legislature’s 40 seats, the Progressive Conservatives held 14, the NDP had one, and there were two Independents and four vacant seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.
— With files from Michael MacDonald in Halifax.
