2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election

2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election
← outgoing members members →
48 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly ; 25 seats were needed for a majority
	Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Click the map for more details.
Premier before election; Roger Grimes ; Liberal	Premier after election; Danny Williams ; Progressive Conservative

Last updated October 08, 2024

The 2003 Newfoundland and Labrador general election was held on October 21, 2003, to elect the 48 members of the 45th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador. The election was called on September 29 by Premier Roger Grimes of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.^[1]

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level
Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCNL	LPNL	NLNDP	Other	ME	Sample
Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source					ME	Sample
Election 2003	October 21, 2003		58.71	33.05	6.86	1.38
Corporate Research Associates Inc.	October 2003	^[2]	57	33	6	—	4.4	—
Corporate Research Associates Inc.	August 2003	^[3]	54	36	6	—	3.5	801
Election 1999	February 9, 1999		40.77	49.62	8.23	1.38

Results

This election marked only the third change of government in the 54 years since the province joined Canada. The Liberals, led by Roger Grimes, were soundly defeated by the Danny Williams-led Progressive Conservative Party, who took almost three-quarters of the seats in the House of Assembly and well over half of the popular vote.^[4] The Liberals lost seven of their 17 Cabinet ministers, along with the Speaker of the House, from the preceding government. Jack Harris and the New Democrats hopes to increase their seat total from two were frustrated, although their incumbents were re-elected.

Results by party

Summary of the Legislative Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador election results
Party		Party leader	Candidates	Seats				Popular vote
Party		Party leader	Candidates	1999	Dissol.	2003	Change	#	%	Change
	Progressive Conservative	Danny Williams	48	14	19	34	+78.9%	162,949	58.71%	+17.94%
	Liberal	Roger Grimes	48	32	27	12	-55.6%	91,729	33.05%	-16.57%
	New Democratic	Jack Harris	34	2	2	2	-	19,048	6.86%	-1.37%
	Independent and no affiliation		13	-	-	-	-	3,812	1.38%	-%
Total			143	48	48	48	-	277,538	100.00%

Results by region

Party name			St. John's	Avalon/Burin	Central/Southern	Western	Labrador	Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature:
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	13	5	8	7	1	34
	Progressive Conservative	Popular vote:	67.73%	57.61%	54.02%	57.48%	30.52%	58.71%
	Liberal	Seats:	-	4	5	1	2	12
	Liberal	Popular vote:	19.43%	38.17%	42.78%	40.16%	29.93%	33.05%
	New Democratic	Seats:	1	-	-	-	1	2
	New Democratic	Popular vote:	12.59%	4.20%	2.62%	1.61%	21.65%	6.86%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature:
	Other	Popular vote:	0.25%	0.02%	0.58%	0.75%	17.90%	1.38%
Total seats:			14	9	13	8	4	48

Results by riding

Bold denotes a Cabinet minister or party leader.
† denotes a retiring MHA.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Kilbride		Ed Byrne 5,315		Joe Wadden 1,071		David Reynolds 404				Ed Byrne
Signal Hill—Quidi Vidi		Karen Carroll 2,221		Ray O'Neill 391		Jack Harris 2,456				Jack Harris
St. John's Centre		Shawn Skinner 3,349		Joan Marie Aylward 1,763		Carol Cantwell 956				Joan Marie Aylward
St. John's East		John Ottenheimer 4,151		George Murphy 862		Bruce Clark 841		Steve Durant (Ind.) 66		John Ottenheimer
St. John's North		Bob Ridgley 3,107		Jeff Brace 1,433		Liam Walsh 820				Lloyd Mathews †
St. John's South		Tom Osborne 4,532		Dennis O'Keefe 756		Tom McGinnis 676				Tom Osborne
St. John's West		Sheila Osborne 4,557		Tom Hann 1,292		Raj Sharan 460				Sheila Osborne
Virginia Waters		Kathy Dunderdale 4,193		Walter Noel 2,358		Dave Sullivan 666				Walter Noel

St. John's suburbs

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Cape St. Francis		Jack Byrne 5,604		Bill Tapper 1,294		Ralph Tapper 980				Jack Byrne
Conception Bay East and Bell Island		Dianne Whalen 4,147		Jim Walsh 1,870		Ken Kavanaugh 1,180		Doug Cole (Ind.) 171		Jim Walsh
Conception Bay South		Terry French 5,606		Sheina Lerman 372		Andy Lewis 768				Terry French
Mount Pearl		Dave Denine 5,662		Wayne Ralph 798		Roy Locke 504				Julie Bettney †
Topsail		Elizabeth Marshall 5,354		Ralph Wiseman 2,354		Michael Kehoe 472				Ralph Wiseman
Waterford Valley		Harvey Hodder 4,569		Averill Baker 1,277		Justin Locke 410				Harvey Hodder

Avalon and Burin peninsulas

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Bellevue		Joan Cleary 2,523		Percy Barrett 2,623		Michael Fahey 299				Percy Barrett
Burin—Placentia West		Clyde Jackman 3,450		Sam Synard 2,133		Wayne Butler 684				Mary Hodder †
Carbonear—Harbour Grace		John Babb 3,165		George Sweeney 3,699						George Sweeney
Ferryland		Loyola Sullivan 5,167		Andrea Kavanagh 504		Lois Martin 309		Pilar Riego-Hickey (Ind.) 11		Loyola Sullivan
Grand Bank		Darin King 3,058		Judy Foote 3,101		Bill Wakeley 136				Judy Foote
Harbour Main—Whitbourne		Tom Hedderson 4,769		Fred Akerman 1,482		Eugene Conway 493				Tom Hedderson
Placentia and St. Mary's		Fabian Manning 3,746		Kevin Power 1,812		Janet Stringer 152				Fabian Manning
Port de Grave		Clarence Gosse 2,374		Roland Butler 3,983						Roland Butler
Trinity—Bay de Verde		Charlene Johnson 4,091		Lloyd Snow 2,095		Victoria Harnum 287				Lloyd Snow

Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Baie Verte		Paul Shelley 3,045		Maurice Budgell 927				William Day (Ind.) 114		Paul Shelley
Bonavista North		Harry Harding 3,384		Churence Rogers 2,301		Howard E. Parsons 116				Harry Harding
Bonavista South		Roger Fitzgerald 4,354		Betty Fitzgerald 938		Sam Kelly 179				Roger Fitzgerald
Exploits		Clayton Forsey 2,346		Roger Grimes 3,218		John L. Whelan 168				Roger Grimes
Gander		Kevin O'Brien 3,621		Dianne Crewe 1,930		Steve Johnson 348				Sandra Kelly †
Grand Falls—Buchans		Paula Flood 2,331		Anna Thistle 3,921		Gerry Tobin 370				Anna Thistle
Lewisporte		Tom Rideout 3,504		Todd Manuel 1,275				Garry Vatcher (Ind.) 159		Tom Rideout
Terra Nova		Paul Oram 3,114		Tom Lush 2,614		Herbert Ralph 218				Tom Lush
Trinity North		Ross Wiseman 4,126		Kathryn Small 1,640		Howard W. Duffett 340				Ross Wiseman
Twillingate and Fogo		Derrick Dalley 2,334		Gerry Reid 2,941						Gerry Reid
Windsor—Springdale		Ray Hunter 3,488		Barry J. Oake 1,826		Clar Jacobs 138		Elmer Anthony (Ind.) 145		Ray Hunter

Western and Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Bay of Islands		Mike Monaghan 2,760		Eddie Joyce 2,907		Dave Quigley 214				Eddie Joyce
Burgeo and La Poile		Stephen MacKenzie 1,008		Kelvin Parsons 4,233						Kelvin Parsons
Fortune Bay—Cape La Hune		Andrew Colford 2,044		Oliver Langdon 2,880						Oliver Langdon
Humber East		Tom Marshall 3,976		Bob Mercer 2,624						Bob Mercer
Humber Valley		Kathy Goudie 2,796		Dwight Ball 2,507						Rick Woodford †
Humber West		Danny Williams 3,823		Edward Buckle 1,533		Matthew Robbins 207				Danny Williams
Port au Port		Jim Hodder 3,101		Gerald Smith 2,378				Frederick G. Ollerhead (Ind.) 84		Gerald Smith
St. Barbe		Wallace Young 2,948		Ralph Payne 1,577		Holly Patey 293				Wallace Young
St. George's—Stephenville East		Joan Burke 2,927		Ron Dawe 2,464				Nancy Critchley (Ind.) 170		Kevin Aylward †
The Straits - White Bay North		Trevor Taylor 3,133		Don McDonald 1,802				Ford Michelmore (Ind.) 78		Trevor Taylor

Labrador

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
Electoral district	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other		Incumbent
Cartwright—L'Anse au Clair		Dennis Normore 804		Yvonne Jones 1,514				Frank Pye (Lab.) 206		Yvonne Jones
Labrador West		Graham Letto 1,142		Doris Sacrey 423		Randy Collins 2,762		Ern Condon (Lab.) 631		Randy Collins
Lake Melville		John Hickey 1,778		Ken Anthony 1,126		Barbara Stickley 129		Brandon Pardy (Lab.) 1,485		Ernie McLean †
Torngat Mountains		Winston White 352		Wally Andersen 934				Lucy Jararuse (Lab.) 69		Wally Andersen

By-elections since the general election

Exploits (resignation of Roger Grimes), June 23, 2005:

By-election: Exploits
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PC	Clayton Forsey	2,605	55.2
	Liberal	George Saunders	1,958	41.5
	NDP	John Whelan	159	3.4
Total			4,722	100%

Placentia and St. Mary's (resignation of Fabian Manning), February 21, 2006:

By-election: Placentia and St. Mary's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PC	Felix Collins	2,247	46.3
	Independent	Nick Careen	1,641	33.8
	Liberal	Kevin Power	931	19.2
	Newfoundland and Labrador First	Tom Hickey	31	0.6
Total			4,850

Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi (resignation of Jack Harris), November 1, 2006:

By-election: Signal Hill—Quidi Vidi
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	NDP	Lorraine Michael	1,968	55.23	+6.77
	PC	Jerome Kennedy	1,595	44.77	+0.95
Total			3,563	100%

Ferryland (resignation of Loyola Sullivan), February 8, 2007:

By-election: Ferryland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PC	Keith Hutchings	2,770	75.52	-10.73
	Liberal	Kevin Bennett	715	19.49	+11.08
	NDP	Rick Boland	183	4.99	-0.17
Total			3,668	100%

Kilbride (resignation of Ed Byrne), February 8, 2007:

By-election: Kilbride
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PC	John Dinn	2,744	78.83	+0.55
	Liberal	Bob Clarke	508	14.59	-1.18
	NDP	Gemma Schlamp-Hickey	229	6.58	+0.63
Total			3,481	100%

Port au Port (resignation of Jim Hodder), February 8, 2007:

By-election: Port au Port
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PC	Tony Cornect	2,701	61.99	+6.25
	Liberal	Mark Felix	1,521	34.91	-7.84
	NDP	Paul O'Keefe	135	3.90	*
Total			4,357	100%

Humber Valley (resignation of Kathy Goudie), February 13, 2007:

By-election: Humber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Dwight Ball	2,153	48.70	+1.26
	PC	Darryl Kelly	2,146	48.54	-4.02
	NDP	Shelley Senior	122	2.76	*
Total			4,421	100%

v t e Newfoundland and Labrador provincial by-election, February 13, 2007: Labrador West
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Baker	1,666	41.62	+18.59
	New Democratic	Darrell Brenton	1,240	30.98	−24.73
	Labrador	Ron Barron	670	16.74	+4.01
	Liberal	Karen Oldford	427	10.66	–
Total			4,451	100%	+2.13
Called upon the resignation of Randy Collins.

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References

↑ "Election three years in the making". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved January 12, 2011.
↑ "Polls put Nfld. Tories in lead". The Sudbury Star. October 15, 2003. p. A7.
↑ Cox, Kevin (September 8, 2003). "With election call on horizon, polls have Grits losing in Nfld". The Globe and Mail. p. A7.
↑ "Tories sweep to power in Newfoundland and Labrador". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 22, 2003. Retrieved March 13, 2014.

External links

General resources

Parties

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Archived 2011-05-15 at the Wayback Machine (see also Conservative Party of Canada)
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador (see also Liberal Party of Canada)
Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (see also New Democratic Party)
Labrador Party

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[three_years-1] "Election three years in the making". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved January 12, 2011.

[2] "Polls put Nfld. Tories in lead". The Sudbury Star. October 15, 2003. p. A7.

[3] Cox, Kevin (September 8, 2003). "With election call on horizon, polls have Grits losing in Nfld". The Globe and Mail. p. A7.

[Tories_sweep-4] "Tories sweep to power in Newfoundland and Labrador". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 22, 2003. Retrieved March 13, 2014.

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v t e Elections and referendums in Newfoundland and Labrador
General elections	1832 1836 1837 1842 1848 1852 1855 1859 1861 1865 1869 1873 1874 1878 1882 1885 1889 1893 1897 1900 1904 1908 1909 1913 1919 1923 1924 1928 1932 1949 1951 1956 1959 1962 1966 1971 1972 1975 1979 1982 1985 1989 1993 1996 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2021 Next
Local elections	2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Referendums	1915 1948
Federal elections	2019
See also: List of Newfoundland and Labrador by-elections

v t e Newfoundland and Labrador provincial electoral districts
St. John's	Mount Scio St. John's Centre St. John's East-Quidi Vidi St. John's West Virginia Waters-Pleasantville Waterford Valley Windsor Lake
St. John's suburbs	Cape St. Francis Conception Bay East–Bell Island Conception Bay South Mount Pearl North Mount Pearl-Southlands Topsail-Paradise
Avalon Peninsula	Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde Ferryland Harbour Grace-Port de Grave Harbour Main Placentia-St. Mary's
Eastern Newfoundland	Bonavista Burin-Grand Bank Placentia West-Bellevue Terra Nova
Central Newfoundland	Baie Verte-Green Bay Exploits Fogo Island-Cape Freels Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune Gander Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans Lewisporte-Twillingate
Western Newfoundland	Burgeo-La Poile Corner Brook Humber-Bay of Islands Humber-Gros Morne St. Barbe-L'Anse aux Meadows St. George's-Humber Stephenville-Port au Port
Labrador	Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair Labrador West Lake Melville Torngat Mountains
See also 2021 general election List of elections Politics