1974 Nova Scotia general election

1974 Nova Scotia general election
← outgoing members members →
46 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly ; 24 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	77.89% 0.57pp
Premier before election; Gerald Regan ; Liberal	Premier after election; Gerald Regan ; Liberal

Last updated August 23, 2023

The 1974 Nova Scotia general election was held on 2 April 1974 to elect members of the 51st House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Liberal Party.

Results

Results by party

↓
31	12	3
Liberal	Progressive Conservative	New Democratic

Official results ^[1]^[2]
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	1970	Dissolution	Elected	Change	#	%	Change (pp)
	Liberal	Gerald Regan	46	23	24	31	+8	206,648	47.57%	+1.94%
	Progressive Conservative	John Buchanan	46	21	19	12	-9	166,388	38.31%	-8.12%
	New Democratic	Jeremy Akerman	46	2	2	3	+1	55,902	12.87%	+6.28%
	Independent		6	0	1	0	0	2,220	0.51%	+0.13%
	Vacant				0
Total valid votes								431,158	99.26%	+0.23%

Blank and invalid ballots								3,205	0.74%	-0.23%
Total			144	46	46	46	–	434,363	100.00%	–
Registered voters / turnout								507,190	77.89%^[3]	+0.57%

Popular vote

Liberal			47.57%
PC			38.31%
New Democratic			12.87%
Independent			0.51%

Seats summary

Liberal			67.39%
PC			26.09%
New Democratic			6.52%

Results by region

Party name			HRM	Cape Breton	Annapolis Valley	South Shore	Fundy-Northeast	Central Nova	Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature
	Liberal	Seats:	8	6	6	4	4	3	31
	Liberal	Popular vote:	48.73%	42.68%	51.25%	51.37%	48.19%	48.05%	47.57%
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	2	1	2	3	2	2	12
	Progressive Conservative	Popular vote:	38.34%	32.67%	42.11%	39.63%	42.33%	41.57%	38.31%
	New Democratic Party	Seats:	0	3	0	0	0	0	3
	New Democratic Party	Popular vote:	12.93%	24.21%	6.64%	6.48%	9.06%	10.37%	12.87%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature
	Independent	Popular vote:	–	0.45%	–	2.52%	0.42%	–	0.51%
Total seats:			10	10	8	7	6	5	46

Retiring incumbents

Liberal

Progressive Conservative

Nominated candidates

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Valley

Electoral district	Candidates							Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent	Incumbent
Annapolis East		Hank De Boer 2,583 43.48%		Gerry Sheehy 3,134 52.76%		Murray A. Bent 223 3.75%			Gerry Sheehy
Annapolis West		Peter M. Nicholson 2,636 53.00%		J.R. Kerr 2,150 43.22%		David N. Lowe 188 3.78%			Peter M. Nicholson
Clare		Benoit Comeau 2,959 61.07%		Vincent L. Doucet 1,218 25.14%		Jean L. Belliveau 668 13.79%			Benoit Comeau
Digby		Joseph H. Casey 3,525 65.90%		John R. Nichols 1,590 29.73%		C.B. Haight 234 4.37%			Joseph H. Casey
Hants West		Robert D. Lindsay 4,148 48.07%		Ron Russell 3,707 42.96%		Gary E. Tonks 774 8.97%			Robert D. Lindsay
Kings North		Glenn Ells 3,536 49.39%		David J. Waterbury 3,124 43.63%		George W. Graves 500 6.98%			Victor Thorpe†
Kings South		Edgar K. Aston 1,999 33.11%		Harry How 3,576 59.22%		John P. O'Meara 463 7.67%			Harry How
Kings West		Frank Bezanson 5,031 58.34%		Kathleen E. Howlett 3,206 37.23%		Donald Wolsey 374 4.34%			Frank Bezanson

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent		Incumbent
Lunenburg Centre		James Kinley 3,878 39.08%		Bruce Cochran 4,086 41.18%		Ralph E. Deamond 421 4.24%		Walton Cook 1,538 15.50%		Walton Cook
Lunenburg East		Joseph Saunders 1,963 41.06%		Ron Barkhouse 2,536 53.04%		Anthony W.E. Zinck 282 5.90%				Maurice L. Zinck†
Lunenburg West		Maurice DeLory 3,635 54.92%		Ella Spence 2,643 39.93%		William R. Griswold 341 5.15%				Maurice DeLory
Queens		R. Keith Wyer 2,649 40.58%		John Wickwire 2,905 44.50%		A.J. d'Entremont 974 14.92%				Floyd MacDonald†
Shelburne		Harold Huskilson 4,119 47.58%		Ron Hatfield 3,732 43.11%		Dewey Waybret 806 9.31%				Harold Huskilson
Yarmouth		Fraser Mooney 8,098 32.87%		Martin Cottreau 4,029 16.35%		Lawrence Dukeshire 637 2.59%				Fraser Mooney
Yarmouth		Hugh Tinkham 7,068 28.69%		George A. Snow 4,300 17.45%		Leslie Babin 504 2.05%				George A. Snow

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent		Incumbent
Colchester		Melinda MacLean 9,514 25.87%		Gerald Ritcey 7,182 19.53%		Eda Forsythe 1,515 4.12%		Bob Kirk 159 0.43%		Gerald Ritcey
Colchester		Floyd Tucker 8,662 23.55%		Ron Giffin 7,974 21.68%		Allan Marchbank 1,771 4.82%				George Isaac Smith†
Cumberland Centre		Guy Brown 2,283 52.16%		Raymond M. Smith 1,601 36.58%		Elory Tabor 493 11.26%				Raymond M. Smith
Cumberland East		Ronald S. MacNeil 3,490 40.82%		Roger Stuart Bacon 4,125 48.25%		David W. D'Aubin 934 10.93%				Roger Stuart Bacon
Cumberland West		W.J. Brown 2,205 45.86%		D. L. George Henley 2,323 48.32%		A. Bradley Colpitts 280 5.82%				D. L. George Henley
Hants East		Jack Hawkins 3,322 49.88%		Avard Ettinger 2,690 40.39%		Clair White 549 8.24%		John G. Stanhope Sr. 99 1.49%		Jack Hawkins

Halifax/Dartmouth/Eastern Shore

Electoral district	Candidates							Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent	Incumbent
Halifax Atlantic		Darrell E. Wentzell 4,380 35.90%		John Buchanan 6,229 51.06%		Colin Campbell 1,591 13.04%			John Buchanan
Halifax Chebucto		Walter Fitzgerald 5,608 53.47%		Dennis Ashworth 3,233 30.82%		Burris Devanney 1,648 15.71%			James L. Connolly†
Halifax Citadel		Ronald Wallace 4,299 48.73%		Richard MacLean 3,071 34.81%		Michael Bradfield 1,452 16.46%			Ronald Wallace
Halifax Cobequid		George Doucet 8,691 49.57%		Silvia Hudson 6,878 39.23%		George C. Cann 1,964 11.20%			George Riley†
Halifax Cornwallis		George M. Mitchell 5,391 47.52%		George T.H. Cooper 3,833 33.79%		Muriel Duckworth 2,121 18.70%			George M. Mitchell
Halifax Eastern Shore		Alexander Garnet Brown 6,437 52.90%		Hanson D. Josey 4,205 34.56%		John T. Kennedy 1,527 12.55%			Alexander Garnet Brown
Halifax Needham		Gerald Regan 4,364 61.49%		James H. Vaughan 1,854 26.12%		Martin Dolin 879 12.39%			Gerald Regan
Halifax-St. Margaret's		Leonard L. Pace 7,238 47.87%		George C. Piercey 6,084 40.24%		Richard Rogers 1,798 11.89%			Leonard L. Pace
Dartmouth North		Glen M. Bagnell 7,091 51.41%		Richard L. Weldon 4,839 35.08%		Joseph Bouchard 1,863 13.51%			Glen M. Bagnell
Dartmouth South		D. Scott MacNutt 5,871 44.24%		Roland J. Thornhill 6,491 48.91%		Norman H. Dares 908 6.84%			D. Scott MacNutt

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates							Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent	Incumbent
Antigonish		Bill Gillis 5,141 56.88%		Ronald A. MacDonald 3,172 35.09%		Patrick D. Gough 726 8.03%			Bill Gillis
Guysborough		A.M. "Sandy" Cameron 3,688 55.66%		Fenwick MacIntosh 2,652 40.02%		William Sugg 286 4.32%			A.M. "Sandy" Cameron
Pictou Centre		Lawrence MacKinnon 4,954 42.54%		Fraser MacLean 5,100 43.80%		Dave MacKenzie 1,591 13.66%			Ralph F. Fiske†
Pictou East		J. Lester MacLellan 2,945 42.09%		Donald Cameron 3,217 45.98%		Joanne E. Kohout 835 11.93%			A. Lloyd MacDonald†
Pictou West		Dan Reid 2,624 43.99%		Harvey Veniot 2,602 43.62%		Charles Parker 739 12.39%			Harvey Veniot

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent		Incumbent
Cape Breton Centre		Albert J. Boudreau 1,703 21.76%		Mike Laffin 2,743 35.05%		Buddy MacEachern 3,380 43.19%				Mike Laffin
Cape Breton East		Vincent Kachafanas 3,443 30.83%		Frederick Adshade 1,611 14.43%		Jeremy Akerman 5,929 53.10%		Archie MacDonald 183 1.64%		Jeremy Akerman
Cape Breton North		Barry LeBlanc 4,155 33.57%		Tom MacKeough 4,889 39.50%		Len J. Arsenault 3,333 26.93%				Tom MacKeough
Cape Breton Nova		Ronald DiPenta 1,275 17.19%		Percy Gaum 2,334 31.46%		Paul MacEwan 3,809 51.35%				Paul MacEwan
Cape Breton South		Vince MacLean 6,487 50.87%		John Francis Burke 3,721 29.18%		Earl Johnston 2,441 19.14%		Angus Currie 102 0.80%		John Francis Burke
Cape Breton West		Allan Sullivan 6,281 53.46%		Kenneth Andrews 3,199 27.23%		Frank Boone 2,269 19.31%				Allan Sullivan
Inverness		William MacEachern 5,606 26.50%		Norman J. MacLean 4,832 22.84%		Donald MacKay 621>br>2.94%		Catherine M. Haig 139 0.66%		Norman J. MacLean
Inverness		John Archie MacKenzie 5,403 25.54%		Joseph Shannon 4,088 19.32%		Winston Bennett 466 2.20%				John Archie MacKenzie
Richmond		Gaston LeBlanc 3,697 57.62%		Joseph Stewart 2,138 33.32%		Stanley Pashkoski 581 9.06%				Gerald Doucet†
Victoria		Maynard MacAskill 2,573 59.44%		Fisher Hudson 1,542 35.62%		Colin A. Gillis 214 4.94%				Fisher Hudson

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References

↑ "Election Returns 1974" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
↑ "Election Returns 1974 Recapitulation" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
↑ While 434,363 votes were cast, only 395,028 electors voted as Colchester, Inverness and Yarmouth electors voted for two candidates.

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See also: List of Nova Scotia by-elections