Labrador (electoral district) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Labrador is a federal electoral district

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

since 1949.

The riding covers all of Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

and with just 26,000 people located in the riding it is the least populous in Canada. From 2005 to 2011, the riding was represented by Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

MP Todd Russell

Todd Russell

Todd Norman Russell is a Canadian politician and was the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador from 2005 to 2011.-Early life:...

. He was defeated by Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

Peter Penashue

Peter Penashue, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada currently serving as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada...

in the 2011 federal election.

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

Geography

The district includes all of Labrador, including Belle Isle

Belle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Belle Isle is an uninhabited island just off the coast of Labrador and north of Newfoundland at the Atlantic entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle which takes its name...

, North and South Aulatsivik Island

South Aulatsivik Island

South Aulatsivik Island is a Canadian island in northeastern part of Labrador in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.It is situated at entrance of Webb’s Bay, fronting the Atlantic Ocean....

.

The neighbouring ridings are Nunavut

Nunavut (electoral district)

Nunavut is a federal electoral district in Nunavut, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Nunatsiaq, its predecessor that covered the same area, was a federal electoral district in Northwest Territories, that was represented in the House of Commons from 1979...

, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou

Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou

Abitibi and Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou is a federal riding in the province of Quebec, Canada, that have been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1966."Abitibi" was created in 1966, and renamed "Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik"...

, Manicouagan

Manicouagan (electoral district)

Manicouagan is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The riding was created in 1966 from parts of Charlevoix and Saguenay ridings....

, and Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte

Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte

Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 96.2% White, 3.4% Native Canadian...

.

According to Elections Canada

Elections Canada

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...

, the boundaries of this riding for the 39th General Election

Canadian federal election, 2006

The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

(2006) are:

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

Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador

Belle Isle is an uninhabited island just off the coast of Labrador and north of Newfoundland at the Atlantic entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle which takes its name...

See the map of the Labrador riding.

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. Liberal MP Bill Rompkey

Bill Rompkey

William Hubert Rompkey, PC is a Canadian educator who served as Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a senator from 1995 to 2011.-Early life and education:...

held the seat from 1972 till his appointment to the Canadian Senate

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

in 1995. Lawrence O'Brien

Lawrence O'Brien

Lawrence David O'Brien was a Canadian politician.O’Brien represented Labrador in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal from 1996 until his death in 2004...

was later elected in a by-election and 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

38th Canadian Parliament

The 38th Canadian Parliament was in session from October 4, 2004 until November 29, 2005. The membership was set by the 2004 federal election on June 28, 2004, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections, but due to the seat distribution, those few changes significantly...

. The Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

candidate, Todd Russell

Todd Russell

Todd Norman Russell is a Canadian politician and was the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador from 2005 to 2011.-Early life:...

, who was heavily favoured, ended up winning, but with a reduced percentage from the 2004 election

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

Parliament	Years		Party
Dominion of Newfoundland Dominion of Newfoundland The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland... prior to 1949
*Grand Falls—White Bay*
21st Canadian federal election, 1949 The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...	1949–1953	Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne was a Canadian politician who was part of the Newfoundland National Convention which discussed the terms of union between Newfoundland and Canada.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
*Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador*
22nd Canadian federal election, 1953 The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...	1953–1957	Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne was a Canadian politician who was part of the Newfoundland National Convention which discussed the terms of union between Newfoundland and Canada.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
23rd Canadian federal election, 1957 The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...	1957–1958
24th Canadian federal election, 1958 The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...	1958–1962	Charles Granger Charles Granger Charles Ronald McKay Granger, PC, OC was a Canadian and Newfoundland politician.Born in Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador, one of two children of David Charles and Emilie Sarah Granger, Granger was educated at St...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
25th Canadian federal election, 1962 The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...	1962–1963
26th Canadian federal election, 1963 The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...	1963–1965
27th Canadian federal election, 1965 The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...	1965–1966
	1966–1968	Andrew Chatwood Andrew Chatwood Andrew Chatwood was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was an administrative supervisor by career....	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
28th Canadian federal election, 1968 The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...	1968–1972	Ambrose Peddle Ambrose Peddle Ambrose Hubert Peddle is a retired Canadian politician.Born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, he worked for Newfoundland Railway from 1945 to 1947 and Customs & Excise from 1947 to 1949. From 1949 to 1951, he worked for the Government of Canada's Unemployment Insurance Commission. From 1951 to 1963,...	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
29th Canadian federal election, 1972 The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...	1972–1974	Bill Rompkey Bill Rompkey William Hubert Rompkey, PC is a Canadian educator who served as Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a senator from 1995 to 2011.-Early life and education:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
30th Canadian federal election, 1974 The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...	1974–1979
31st Canadian federal election, 1979 The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...	1979–1980
32nd Canadian federal election, 1980 The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...	1980–1984
33rd Canadian federal election, 1984 The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...	1984–1988
*Labrador*
34th Canadian federal election, 1988 The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....	1988–1993	Bill Rompkey Bill Rompkey William Hubert Rompkey, PC is a Canadian educator who served as Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a senator from 1995 to 2011.-Early life and education:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
35th Canadian federal election, 1993 The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...	1993–1996
	1996–1997	Lawrence O'Brien Lawrence O'Brien Lawrence David O'Brien was a Canadian politician.O’Brien represented Labrador in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal from 1996 until his death in 2004...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
36th Canadian federal election, 1997 The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...	1997–2000
37th Canadian federal election, 2000 The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....	2000–2004
38th Canadian federal election, 2004 The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...	2004
	2005–2006	Todd Russell Todd Russell Todd Norman Russell is a Canadian politician and was the Liberal member of Parliament for the riding of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador from 2005 to 2011.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
39th Canadian federal election, 2006 The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...	2006–2008
40th Canadian federal election, 2008 The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...	2008–2011
41st	2011–present	Peter Penashue Peter Penashue Peter Penashue, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada currently serving as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada...	Conservative Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

Labrador, 1988 - present

|align="left" colspan=2|Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

Labrador, 2005 by-election

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

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

Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...

since the 2004 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2004

largely due to disputes with the Progressive Conservative provincial governments of these provinces, especially that of Newfoundland and Labrador over the relationship between offshore oil 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

38th Canadian Parliament

. Following the 2004 election, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

held 154 seats together, or exactly half of the 308-seat House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

. Afgter Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish was 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 have left the opposition Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

or the Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

as the only viable partners for the Liberals to get legislation passed in the House. Former Liberal MP David Kilgour

David Kilgour

David Kilgour, PC is a former Canadian politician.Kilgour graduated from the University of Manitoba in economics in 1962 and the University of Toronto law school in 1966. From crown attorney in northern Alberta to Canadian Cabinet minister, Kilgour ended his 27 year tenure in the Canadian House of...

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

Spoiler effect

The spoiler effect describes the effect a minor party candidate with little chance of winning has in a close election, when that candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate similar to them, thereby causing a candidate dissimilar to them to win the election...

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 election. However, historically the NDP has been adamant in contesting all by-elections, and NDP leader Jack Layton

Jack Layton

John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...

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 two seats in Labrador.

Results

Liberal Party of Canada

hold.
|align="right"|Swing
|align="right"|-13.6
|align="right"|
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 percentage points and the New Democrats who also increased their vote total.
|- bgcolor="white"

|align="left" colspan=2|Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

Canadian Alliance

The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

and Progressive Conservative Party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

totals.

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

Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, 1952 - 1987

Grand Falls—White Bay, 1949 - 1952

External links

Labrador riding from Elections Canada
Elections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
Riding history for Grand Falls—White Bay (1949–1952) from the Library of Parliament
Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada...
Riding history for Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador (1952–1987) from the Library of Parliament
Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada...
Riding history for Labrador (1987– ) from the Library of Parliament
Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada...
Election Financial Reports from Elections Canada
Elections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Demographics

Geography

History

Members of Parliament

Labrador, 1988 - present

Labrador, 2005 by-election

Issues

Results

Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, 1952 - 1987

Grand Falls—White Bay, 1949 - 1952

See also

External links