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Liberal leader John Hogan waited as long as fixed date legislation allowed before calling a provincial election in September. “What I want for Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans to know about me is that I’m going to be open and transparent.”
With those words, Hogan began his campaign.
The Liberals first took power in 2015 under Dwight Ball. Andrew Furey then took over the party but resigned before calling an election this year. Now Hogan is trying to do something that has never been done in the post-Confederation era, win a mandate as the third-consecutive leader of a party.
To win over voters, Hogan travelled across the province. The Liberal campaign platform promised about $130 million in new spending – committing to things like doubling the aging well at home grant for seniors. There’s also tuition forgiveness for practicum courses for nursing students, and cutting taxes on residential electricity bills.
Before the campaign was called, Hogan said the Churchill Falls MOU would be the issue of the election. Furey ripped up the old MOU before he resigned. His successor, John Hogan, says he is the man to get any final agreements over the finish line.
Looking to take power from the Liberals is PC leader Tony Wakeham, the former CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health who took control of the Tories in 2023. The PC’s haven’t won an election in our province since 2011 and have filled the role as official opposition since then.
This will be Wakeham’s first election at the helm of the PC’s, and his message has been “it’s time for a change.”
The stark difference between the Tories and the Liberals in this election has been their approach to the Churchill Falls MOU. Back when that same MOU was debated in the House of Assembly, the Tories chose not to vote on the deal, arguing it needed more independent oversight. Now, Wakeham has promised if he takes power, he will put the deal to a public referendum and launch an independent review into the MOU.
Wakeham’s Conservative team has not promised a surplus if they’re elected. The PC leader has said he will help residents with their own finances before addressing the provincial deficit. The Tory platfrom pledges more than $280 million in spending on three main pillars – health care, taxes, and safer communities.
The province’s third party, NDP, has lofty expectations this election. NDP leader Jim Dinn said as much just after the election was called, saying his party hoped to form the official opposition. The NDP have only one incumbent running in this election. that’s their leader.
Former NDP MHA for Labrador West, Jordan Brown stepped down in may. Brown has since ran, successfully, to become the mayor of Labrador City. The NDP have a full slate of candidates running in this election – and were the first party to release a fully-costed platform. That platform promises a surplus in its first year, and aims to do things like phase out private agency nurses, and build 1,000 NL Housing units each year.
So, there are three options for who could form government. The province will make that decision at the polls today.
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