Labrador (electoral district)

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Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador electoral district
Labrador in relation to other Newfoundland and Labrador ridings
Federal electoral district
Legislature	House of Commons
MP		Todd Russell Liberal
District created	1949
First contested	1949
Last contested	2006
District webpage	profile, map
Demographics
Population (2006)	26,364
Electors (2006)	19,774
Area (km²)	294,330
Pop. density (per km²)	0.09
Census divisions	Division No  1
Census subdivisions	Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City

Labrador (formerly known as Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador and Grand Falls—White Bay) is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 Members of Parliament 4 Labrador, 2006 election results 5 Labrador, 2005 by-election 5.1 Issues 5.2 Results 6 Labrador, 2004 election 7 Labrador, 1988 - 2000 8 Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, 1952 - 1987 9 Grand Falls—White Bay, 1949 - 1952 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Demographics

This riding is the least populous in Canada.

Ethnic groups: 65.1% White, 34.9% Native Canadian
Languages: 90.0% English, 1.7% French, 7.9% Other
Religions: 67.4% Protestant, 28.4% Catholic, 3.4% No affiliation
Average income: $27 138

[edit] Geography

The district includes all of Labrador, including Belle Isle, North and South Aulatsivik Island.

The neighbouring ridings are Nunavut, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, Manicouagan, and Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte.

According to Elections Canada, the boundaries of this riding for the 39th General Election (2006) are:

"Consisting of all that part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador known as Labrador, including Belle Isle."

See the map of the Labrador riding.

[edit] History

The electoral district was created in 1949 upon the admission of Newfoundland to Canada. Between 1949 and 1988, this district was attached to the Island of Newfoundland, where more than half of its electorate resided. From 1972, it was held by Liberal Bill Rompkey. When he was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1995, a by-election was held, and Lawrence O'Brien was elected. He held the district until his death in 2004.

A by-election was held on May 24, 2005, with the result tipping the balance of the evenly split 38th Parliament. The Liberal candidate, Todd Russell, who was heavily favoured, ended up winning, but with a reduced percentage from the 2004 election.

[edit] Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following Members of Parliament:

Parliament	Years	Member		Party
Dominion of Newfoundland prior to 1949
Grand Falls—White Bay
21st	1949-1953		Thomas Asbourne	Liberal
Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador
22nd	1953-1957		Thomas Asbourne	Liberal
23rd	1957-1958
24th	1958-1962		Charles Granger	Liberal
25th	1962-1963
26th	1963-1965
27th	1965-1966
	1966	vacant
1966 By-election	1966-1968		Andrew Chatwood	Liberal
28th	1968-1972		Ambrose Peddle	Progressive Conservative
29th	1972-1974		Bill Rompkey	Liberal
30th	1974-1979
31st	1979-1980
32nd	1980-1984
33rd	1984-1988
Labrador
34th	1988-1993		Bill Rompkey	Liberal
35th	1993-1996
	1996	vacant
1996 By-election	1996-1997		Lawrence O'Brien †	Liberal
36th	1997-2000
37th	2000-2004
38th	2004
	2004-2005	vacant
2005 By-election	2005-2006		Todd Russell	Liberal
39th	2006-

[edit] Labrador, 2006 election results

Canadian federal election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Todd Russell	5768	50.53	-0.95
	Conservative	Joe Goudie	4528	39.67	+7.34
	New Democrat	Jacob Edward Larkin	1037	9.08	-0.81
	Green	Gail Zwicker	82	0.72	+0.08
Total valid votes			11 415	100.0%
Total rejected ballots			52	0.45%
Turnout			11 467	58.4%	+4.6%

^ Change is from the 2005 by-election

[edit] Labrador, 2005 by-election

On December 16, 2004, MP Lawrence O'Brien died of cancer. Prime Minister Paul Martin called a federal by-election for May 24, 2005. There was a possibility the by-election will not be held because of a non-confidence vote the week prior, that would have toppled the government, sending Canadians to the polls, and would have superseded the by-election. However, the motion failed by one vote, ensuring a by-election in Labrador.

[edit] Issues

The seat has traditionally been a Liberal stronghold, and O'Brien always carried the riding with comfortable pluralities. However, the federal Liberals had lost popularity in Atlantic Canada since the 2004 federal election, largely due to disputes with the Progressive Conservative provincial governments of these provinces, especially that of Newfoundland and Labrador over the relationship between offshore petroleum revenues and equalization payments.

Historically, governing parties fare poorly in federal by-elections. However, this by-election was especially significant due to the make-up of the 38th Canadian Parliament. Following the 2004 election, the Liberals combined with the left-leaning New Democratic Party held 154 seats, or exactly half of the 308-seat House of Commons. Furthermore, with former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish now expelled from that party, the two parties' combined total (prior to O'Brien's death) had been reduced to 153 (or 152 who are eligible to vote since the Speaker was elected as a Liberal). The Liberals were anxious to retain the seat, as its loss would leave the opposition Conservative Party of Canada or the separatist Bloc Québécois as the only viable partners for the Liberals to get legislation passed in the House. Former Liberal MP David Kilgour had left the party, further reducing its strength.

Since the general election, it had been suggested that the New Democratic Party refrain from contesting by-elections in seats where the Liberals were strong but the NDP are not, to avoid splitting the vote and thus help improve the chances securing a better position for the NDP in the House. Labrador would certainly be a prime example of such a seat - the NDP finished a distant fourth in the 2004 poll. However, historically the NDP has been adamant in contesting all by-elections, and NDP leader Jack Layton showed little interest in any such proposal. The NDP nominated Frances Fry on April 23 feeling it had a chance in this seat due to the Liberal fall in polls and the fact that the provincial NDP had one of its 2 seats in Labrador.

[edit] Results

By-election on 24 May 2005 On the death of Lawrence O'Brien, 16 December 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Todd Russell	5438	51.48	-10.75
	Conservative	Graham Letto	3415	32.33	+16.56
	New Democrat	Frances Fry	1045	9.89	+0.25
	Independent	Ern Condon	598	5.66	-4.69
	Green	Jason Crummey	68	0.64	-1.37
Majority			2023	19.1
Turnout			10 564	54.1	+9.3
	Liberal hold.		Swing	-13.6

In the end, the Liberals picked up an easy victory, as expected, but while their actual vote total did not go down by much, their percentage of the vote went down over 10 points from the previous election as turnout was over 9% more than in the 2004 election. This high turnout is virtually unheard of for by-elections which normally have extremely poor turnouts. The additional voters appear to have been brought out by the tense national political situation and mostly voted for the Conservatives who picked up nearly 17 points and the New Democrats who also increased their vote total.

[edit] Labrador, 2004 election

Despite being ill, incumbent Lawrence O'Brien won in a massive landslide.

Canadian federal election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lawrence O'Brien	5524	62.23	-6.76
	Conservative	Merrill Strachan	1400	15.77	-2.85
	Independent	Ern Condon	919	10.35	Ø
	New Democrat	Shawn Crann	856	9.64	-2.74
	Green	Lori-Ann Martino	178	2.01	Ø
Majority			4124	46.5
Turnout			8877	44.8
	Liberal hold.		Swing	-2.0

Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals.

[edit] Labrador, 1988 - 2000

Canadian federal election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lawrence O'Brien	7153	68.99	+18.37
	New Democrat	Amanda Will	1284	12.38	-25.41
	Progressive Conservative	Hayward Broomfield	1254	12.09	+5.20
	Canadian Alliance	Eugene Burt	677	6.53	+1.84
Total valid votes			10 368

Changes for the Canadian Alliance party are based on the 1997 results of its predecessor, the Reform Party.

Canadian federal election, 1997
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lawrence O'Brien	6182	50.62	+10.15
	New Democrat	Randy Collins	4615	37.79	+17.98
	Progressive Conservative	Mike Patton	842	6.89	-1.81
	Reform	Stephanie Girardin	573	4.69	-25.69
Total valid votes			12 212

By-election on 1996 On Bill Rompkey's appointment to the Senate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lawrence O'Brien	4032	40.47	-36.64
	Reform	John Michael McGrath	3027	30.38	Ø
	New Democrat	Randy Collins	1974	19.81	+15.89
	Progressive Conservative	Darlene Gear-White	867	8.70	-10.27
	Independent	Alain Roy	63	0.63	Ø
Total valid votes			9963

Canadian federal election, 1993
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	8724	77.11	+23.61
	Progressive Conservative	Wayne Piercey	2146	18.97	-14.06
	New Democrat	Barry Knight	444	3.92	-7.40
Total valid votes			11 314

Canadian federal election, 1988
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	7126	53.50	+8.37
	Progressive Conservative	Joseph Goudie	4400	33.03	-9.23
	New Democrat	Evelyn Riggs	1508	11.32	-1.29
	Independent	Ern Condon	286	2.15	Ø
Total valid votes			13 320

[edit] Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, 1952 - 1987

Canadian federal election, 1984
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	12 938	45.13	-7.54
	Progressive Conservative	Peter J. Walsh	12 114	42.26	+17.25
	New Democrat	Ern Condon	3616	12.61	-9.71
Total valid votes			28 668

Canadian federal election, 1980
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	15 530	52.67	+6.58
	Progressive Conservative	Ray Hawco	7375	25.01	+13.46
	New Democrat	Ern Condon	6582	22.32	-20.05
Total valid votes			29 487

Canadian federal election, 1979
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	13 639	46.09	-8.73
	New Democrat	Bryan Blackmore	12 538	42.37	+20.66
	Progressive Conservative	Calvin Osmond	3418	11.55	-11.92
Total valid votes			29 595

Canadian federal election, 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	12 689	54.82	-2.82
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Corp Janes	5433	23.47	-12.74
	New Democrat	Donald J. Head	5026	21.71	+15.56
Total valid votes			23 148

Canadian federal election, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Rompkey	14 274	57.64	+10.83
	Progressive Conservative	Ambrose Peddle	8968	36.21	-14.19
	New Democrat	Earle R. Boone	1523	6.15	+3.36
Total valid votes			24 765

Canadian federal election, 1968
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ambrose Peddle	10 322	50.40	+31.57
	Liberal	Andrew Chatwood	9587	46.81	-26.23
	New Democrat	Austin Scott	571	2.79	-5.34
Total valid votes			20 480

By-election on 19 September 1966 On Charles Granger's resignation, 1 August 1966
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Andrew Chatwood	9754	73.04	+2.08
	Progressive Conservative	Thomas Fenwick Pitcher	2515	18.83	-4.04
	New Democrat	Lorne Campbell Snell	1086	8.13	Ø
Total valid votes			13 355

Canadian federal election, 1965
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Granger	17 933	70.96	+0.30
	Progressive Conservative	Thomas Fenwick Pitcher	5779	22.87	-2.50
	Social Credit	Harold W. Parsons	1560	6.17	Ø
Total valid votes			25 272

Canadian federal election, 1963
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Granger	18 233	70.66	+5.11
	Progressive Conservative	Cyril C. Pelley	6545	25.37	+1.16
	New Democrat	Kitchener Pritchett	1025	3.97	-6.27
Total valid votes			25 803

Canadian federal election, 1962
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Granger	16 401	65.55	+3.83
	Progressive Conservative	Wolfred Nelson	6057	24.21	-14.07
	New Democrat	William Joseph Gillies	2561	10.24	Ø
Total valid votes			25 019

Canadian federal election, 1958
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Granger	16 328	61.72	-13.69
	Progressive Conservative	David Gordon Decker	10 129	38.28	+13.69
Total valid votes			26 457

Canadian federal election, 1957
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne	11 681	75.41	+2.15
	Progressive Conservative	George Bloomfield	3810	24.59	-2.15
Total valid votes			15 491

Canadian federal election, 1953
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne	13 653	73.26	-13.49
	Progressive Conservative	Henry George Hicks	4984	26.74	+13.49
Total valid votes			18 637

[edit] Grand Falls—White Bay, 1949 - 1952

Canadian federal election, 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne	12 301	86.75	Ø
	Progressive Conservative	James Pond	1879	13.25	Ø
Total valid votes			14 180

[edit] See also

• List of Canadian federal electoral districts
• Past Canadian electoral districts

[edit] External links

• Labrador riding from Elections Canada
• Riding history for Grand Falls—White Bay (1949–1952) from the Library of Parliament
• Riding history for Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador (1952–1987) from the Library of Parliament
• Riding history for Labrador (1987– ) from the Library of Parliament
• Election Financial Reports from Elections Canada

v • d • e Federal ridings in Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor • Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte • Labrador • Random—Burin—St. George's Conservative Avalon • St. John's East • St. John's South—Mount Pearl

v • d • e Federal ridings in Atlantic Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Avalon • Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor • Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte • Labrador • Random—Burin—St. George's • St. John's East • St. John's South—Mount Pearl Prince Edward Island Cardigan • Charlottetown • Egmont • Malpeque Nova Scotia Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley • Dartmouth—Cole Harbour • Halifax • Halifax West • Kings—Hants • Sackville—Eastern Shore • South Shore—St. Margaret's • Sydney—Victoria • West Nova New Brunswick Acadie—Bathurst • Beauséjour • Fredericton • Fundy Royal • Madawaska—Restigouche • Miramichi • Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe • New Brunswick Southwest • Saint John • Tobique—Mactaquac