Labrador (electoral district)

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 House of Commons of Canada since 1949.

Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador electoral district
Labrador in relation to other Newfoundland and Labrador ridings (2003 boundaries)
Federal electoral district
LegislatureHouse of Commons
MP
 
 
 
Yvonne Jones
Liberal
District created1949
First contested1949
Last contested2019
District webpageprofile, map
Demographics
Population (2016)[1]27,197
Electors (2019)20,016
Area (km²)[1]294,330
Pop. density (per km²)0.09
Census division(s)Division No. 10, Division No. 11
Census subdivision(s)Cartwright, Charlottetown, Division No. 10, Subdivision A, Division No. 10, Subdivision B, Division No. 10, Subdivision C, Division No. 10, Subdivision D, Division No. 10, Subdivision E, Division No. 11, Subdivision C, Division No. 11, Subdivision E, Forteau, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Hopedale, Labrador City, L'Anse-au-Clair, L'Anse-au-Loup, Makkovik, Mary's Harbour, Nain, Natuashish, North West River, Pinware, Port Hope Simpson, Postville, Red Bay, Rigolet, Sheshatshiu, St. Lewis, Wabush, West St. Modeste

The riding covers all of Labrador and with just 26,000 people located in the riding it is the least populous in Canada.[2] From 2005 to 2011, the riding was represented by Liberal MP Todd Russell. He was defeated by Conservative Peter Penashue in the 2011 federal election. Following allegations of irregularities in his campaign spending, Penashue announced on March 14, 2013 that he would resign his seat and run again as a candidate in a new by-election.[3][4] Penashue subsequently lost the by-election to Liberal candidate Yvonne Jones. Jones was re-elected in the 2015 and 2019 federal elections. The riding is viewed as a Liberal stronghold.

The riding is home to the Inuit self-governing territory of Nunatsiavut, along with two Innu reserves Sheshatshiu and Natuashish.

It was one of only two ridings of the 338 during the 2015 election that did not have a Green Party candidate (the other being Kelowna—Lake Country).

Demographics

This riding is the least populous in Canada. Citing the region's highly distinct identity and seeing it as a community of interest they have the legal duty to respect, successive electoral boundary commissions have used their ability to make exceptions to the general electoral quotient to maintain Labrador as a separate riding.

In earlier representation orders, it was joined with communities on the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland.

Ethnic groups: 65.1% White, 34.9% Native Canadian
Languages (2016): 86.4% English, 5.6% Innu, 2.3% Naskapi, 1.5% French, 1.4% Inuktitut, 1.3% Tagalog, 0.1% German, 0.1% Panjabi, 0.1% Spanish[5]
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, 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."

The 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution concluded that the electoral boundaries of Labrador should be preserved with no boundary changes for future elections.[6]

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 held the seat from 1972 till his appointment to the Senate of Canada in 1995. Lawrence D. O'Brien 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. The Liberal candidate, Todd Russell, who was heavily favoured, ended up winning, but with a reduced percentage from the 2004 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.

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 because of 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 because of the make-up of the 38th Canadian Parliament. Following the 2004 election, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party held 154 seats together, or exactly half of the 308-seat House of Commons. After 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 or the 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 election. 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 because of the Liberal fall in polls and the fact that the provincial NDP had one of its two seats in Labrador.

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.

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following Members of Parliament:

Parliament Years Member Party
Grand Falls—White Bay
21st  1949–1953     Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Liberal
Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador
22nd  1953–1957     Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne Liberal
23rd  1957–1958
24th  1958–1962 Charles Granger
25th  1962–1963
26th  1963–1965
27th  1965–1966
 1966–1968 Andrew Chatwood
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
 1996–1997 Lawrence D. O'Brien
36th  1997–2000
37th  2000–2004
38th  2004–2004
 2005–2006 Todd Russell
39th  2006–2008
40th  2008–2011
41st  2011–2013     Peter Penashue Conservative
 2013–2015     Yvonne Jones Liberal
42nd  2015–2019
43rd  2019–present

Election results

Graph of election results in Labrador (minor parties that never got 2% of the vote or didn't run consistently are omitted)

2019 general election

2019 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYvonne Jones4,85142.5-29.25$82,443.39
ConservativeLarry Flemming3,54831.1+17.23$19,580.39
New DemocraticMichelene Gray2,79624.5+10.12$2,811.15
GreenTyler Colbourne2242.0$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 11,419100.0  104,476.76
Total rejected ballots 1391.2-0.77
Turnout 11,55857.7-4.69
Eligible voters 20,016
Liberal hold Swing -23.24
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]


2015 general election

2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYvonne Jones8,87871.75+23.76$95,326.13
New DemocraticEdward Rudkowski1,77914.38–4.81$47,898.82
ConservativePeter Penashue1,71613.87–18.53$24,186.27
Total valid votes/Expense limit 12,373100.00 $204,663.38
Total rejected ballots 530.43–0.42
Turnout 12,42662.39+4.40
Eligible voters 19,917
Liberal hold Swing +14.29
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

2013 by-election

Canadian federal by-election, 13 May 2013
Resignation of Peter Penashue, 14 March 2013
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYvonne Jones5,81247.99+8.92$76,859.63
ConservativePeter Penashue3,92432.40−7.41$70,866.91
New DemocraticHarry Borlase2,32419.19−0.64$81,475.53
LibertarianNorman Andrews500.41 $236.16
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 12,110 100.0     $ 89,852.84
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 27 0.22 −0.26  
Turnout 12,137 59.93 +6.49  
Eligible voters 20,251      
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +8.17
Source: "By-election May 13, 2013". Elections Canada. May 13, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.

2011 general election

2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativePeter Penashue4,25639.81+31.84$89,997.05
LiberalTodd Russell4,17739.07−31.21$30,016.49
New DemocraticJacob Larkin2,12019.83+1.98$29,968.41
GreenGeorge C.R. Barrett1391.30−2.61$0.00
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 10,692 100.0     $84,468.09
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 520.48−0.37
Turnout 10,74452.91 +14.31
Eligible voters 20,305
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +31.52
Conservative candidate Peter Penashue was found to have spent above the mandated expense limit, precipitating his resignation and subsequent by-election.
Sources:[11] [12]

2008 general election

2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalTodd Russell5,42670.28+19.75$26,887
New DemocraticPhyllis Artiss1,37817.85+8.77$5,886
ConservativeLacey Lewis6157.97-31.70$15,728
GreenNyssa Christine McLeod3023.91+3.19none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit 7,721100.0  $81,667
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 66 0.85 +0.40
Turnout 7,78738.60-19.8
Eligible voters 20,175
Liberal hold Swing +5.49

2006 general election

2006 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalTodd Russell5,76850.53-0.95$40,903.10
ConservativeJoe Goudie4,52839.67+7.34$36,381.98
New DemocraticJacob Edward Larkin1,0379.08-0.81$164.95
GreenGail Zwicker820.72+0.08none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit 11,415100.0   $75,653
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 520.45-0.10
Turnout 11,46757.99+4.55
Eligible voters 19,774
Liberal hold Swing -4.14
Changes are from the 2005 by-election

2005 by-election

Canadian federal by-election, May 24, 2005
Death of Lawrence D. O'Brien, 16 December 2004
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalTodd Russell5,43851.48-10.75$53,970.30
ConservativeGraham Letto3,41532.33+16.56$73,509.62
New DemocraticFrances Fry1,0459.89+0.25$26,121.42
IndependentErn Condon5985.66-4.69$254.00
GreenJason Crummey680.64-1.37$78.45
Total valid votes/Expense limit 10,564100.0   $74,995
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 580.55+0.03
Turnout 10,622 53.44 +8.62
Eligible voters 19,876
Liberal hold Swing -13.6

2004 general election

2004 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalLawrence D. O'Brien5,52462.23-6.76$35,586.52
ConservativeMerrill Strachan1,40015.77-2.85$17,120.09
IndependentErn Condon91910.35$62.50
New DemocraticShawn Crann8569.64-2.74none listed
GreenLori-Ann Martino1782.01$135.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 8,877100.0   $73,792
Total rejected, declined and unmarked ballots 460.52
Turnout 8,92344.82
Eligible voters 19,909
Liberal hold Swing -1.96
Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined totals of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance.

2000 general election

2000 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalLawrence D. O'Brien7,15368.99+18.37
New DemocraticAmanda Will1,28412.38-25.41
Progressive ConservativeHayward Broomfield1,25412.09+5.20
AllianceEugene Burt6776.53+1.84
Total valid votes 10,368100.00
Changes for the Canadian Alliance are based on the 1997 results of its predecessor, the Reform Party.

1997 general election

1997 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalLawrence D. O'Brien6,18250.62+10.15
New DemocraticRandy Collins4,61537.79+17.98
Progressive ConservativeMike Patton8426.89-1.81
ReformStephane Girardin5734.69-25.69
Total valid votes 12,212 100.00

1996 by-election

Canadian federal by-election, 1996
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalLawrence D. O'Brien4,03240.47-36.64
ReformJohn Michael McGrath3,02730.38
New DemocraticRandy Collins1,97419.81+15.89
Progressive ConservativeDarlene Gear-White8678.70-10.27
IndependentAlain Roy630.63
Total valid votes 9,963100.00
Called on Bill Rompkey's appointment to the Senate.

1993 general election

1993 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey8,72477.11+23.61
Progressive ConservativeWayne Piercey2,14618.97-14.06
New DemocraticBarry Knight4443.92-7.40
Total valid votes 11,314100.00

1988 general election

1988 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey7,12653.50+8.37
Progressive ConservativeJoseph Goudie4,40033.03-9.23
New DemocraticEvelyn Riggs1,50811.32-1.29
IndependentErn Condon2862.15
Total valid votes 13,320100.00

1984 general election

1984 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey12,93845.13-7.54
Progressive ConservativePeter J. Walsh12,11442.26+17.25
New DemocraticErn Condon3,61612.61-9.71
Total valid votes 28,668 100.00

1980 general election

1980 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey15,53052.67+6.58
Progressive ConservativeRay Hawco7,37525.01+13.46
New DemocraticErn Condon6,58222.32-20.05
Total valid votes 29,487 100.00

1979 general election

1979 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey13,63946.09-8.73
New DemocraticBryan Blackmore12,53842.37+20.66
Progressive ConservativeCalvin Osmond3,41811.55-11.92
Total valid votes 29,595 100.00

1974 general election

1974 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey12,68954.82-2.82
Progressive ConservativeJim Corp Janes5,43323.47-12.74
New DemocraticDonald J. Head5,02621.71+15.56
Total valid votes 23,148 100.00

1972 general election

1972 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBill Rompkey14,27457.64+10.83
Progressive ConservativeAmbrose Peddle8,96836.21-14.19
New DemocraticEarle R. Boone1,5236.15+3.36
Total valid votes 24,765 100.00

1968 general election

1968 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeAmbrose Peddle10,32250.40+31.57
LiberalAndrew Chatwood9,58746.81-26.23
New DemocraticAustin Scott5712.79-5.34
Total valid votes 20,480 100.00

1966 by-election

Canadian federal by-election, 19 September 1966
Resignation of Charles Granger, 1 August 1966
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalAndrew Chatwood9,75473.04+2.08
Progressive ConservativeThomas Fenwick Pitcher2,51518.83-4.04
New DemocraticLorne Campbell Snell1,0868.13
Total valid votes 13,355 100.00

1965 general election

1965 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles Granger17,93370.96+0.30
Progressive ConservativeThomas Fenwick Pitcher5,77922.87-2.50
Social CreditHarold W. Parsons1,5606.17
Total valid votes 25,272 100.00

1963 general election

1963 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles Granger18,23370.66+5.11
Progressive ConservativeCyril C. Pelley6,54525.37+1.16
New DemocraticKitchener Pritchett1,0253.97-6.27
Total valid votes 25,803100.00

1962 general election

1962 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles Granger16,40165.55+3.83
Progressive ConservativeWolfred Nelson6,05724.21-14.07
New DemocraticWilliam Joseph Gillies2,56110.24
Total valid votes 25,019 100.00

1958 general election

1958 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalCharles Granger16,32861.72-13.69
Progressive ConservativeDavid Gordon Decker10,12938.28+13.69
Total valid votes 26,457 100.00

1957 general election

1957 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalThomas Gordon William Ashbourne11,68175.41+2.15
Progressive ConservativeGeorge Bloomfield3,81024.59-2.15
Total valid votes 15,491 100.00

1953 general election

1953 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalThomas Gordon William Ashbourne13,65373.26-13.49
Progressive ConservativeHenry George Hicks4,98426.74+13.49
Total valid votes 18,637100.00

1949 general election

1949 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalThomas Gordon William Ashbourne12,30186.75
Progressive ConservativeJames Pond1,87913.25
Total valid votes 14,180100.00

Student Vote Results

2019

2019 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalYvonne Jones43338.94-28.61
New DemocraticMichelene Gray35531.92+12.14
ConservativeLarry Flemming20918.79+6.12
GreenTyler Colbourne10510.34
Total Valid Votes 3,263100.0 
Source: Student Vote Canada[13]

2015

2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalYvonne Jones56067.55+20.09
New DemocraticEdward Rudkowski16419.78+7.25
ConservativePeter Penashue10512.67-18.67
Total Valid Votes 829100.0 
Source: Student Vote Canada[14]

2011

2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalTodd Russell15947.46
ConservativePeter Penashue10531.34
New DemocraticJacob Larkin4212.53
GreenGeorge C.R. Barrett298.65
Total Valid Votes 335100.0
Source: Student Vote Canada[15]

See also

References

Notes

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