Tony Wakeham leads Progressive Conservatives to provincial general election majority win
It was a race to the finish line, too close to call, as the last votes are counted in Election 2025.
But after three-straight Liberal victories, the tide has shifted with Tony Wakeham and the Progressive Conservatives delivering an election win. NTV’s Decision Desk called the win just after 10 o’clock Tuesday night.
All three party leaders were re-elected this evening. Liberal leader John Hogan reclaimed his seat in Windsor Lake, while Wakeham was re-elected in Stephenville-Port au Port, and the NDP’s Jim Dinn in St. John’s Centre.
It’s a devastating loss for the Liberals. Hogan, the former lawyer, 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,” he told reporters as he began his campaign.
It ends over a decade of Liberal governments. They first took power in 2015 under Dwight Ball. Andrew Furey then took over the party but resigned before calling an election in this year.
Hogan took aim at something that has never been done in the post-Confederation era, win a mandate as the third-consecutive leader of a party. The Liberal campaign platform promised about $130 million in new spending, committing to things like doubling the aging well at home grant for seniors. The party also promised tuition forgiveness for practicum courses for nursing students, as well as cutting taxes on residential electricity bills.
Before the campaign was called, Hogan said the Churchill Falls Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would be the issue of the election. Andrew Furey ripped up the old MOU before he resigned. Hogan, his successor, the St. John’s-based lawyer, told voters he is the man to get any final agreements over the finish line.
However, unlike the days of former premier Danny Williams, this election was heavily contested.
It’s the PC’s first election win since 2011, and the party has filled the role as official opposition since then. This was Wakeham’s first election at the helm of the PC’s and his message was consistent, telling voters it was time for a change. He got it and his message clearly resonated with voters.
The stark difference between the Tories and the Liberals in this election was 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. If elected premier, though, Wakeham promised to put the deal to a public referendum and launch an independent review.
Wakeham’s Conservative team did not promise a surplus if they were elected. The PC leader said he would help residents with their own finances before addressing the provincial deficit. The Tory platform pledged more than $280 million in spending – on three main pillars – health care, taxes, and safer communities.
The province’s third party, the NDP, had 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 featured only one incumbent running in this election, and that’s Jim Dinn. 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 ran a full slate of candidates in this election and were the first party to release a fully-costed platform. That platform promised a surplus in its first year, and aimed to do things like phase out private agency nurses, and build 1,000 Newfoundland and Labrador housing units each year. His party would win two seats – Dinn and veteran politician Sheilagh O’Leary.