Atlantic Canada voters appear poised to widely support federal Liberals

HALIFAX — Voters in Canada’s four Atlantic provinces are expected to deliver a stay-the-course message to the country’s governing Liberals today as voting gets underway on the East Coast.

The party has dominated the region since 2015 when it won all 32 seats, but its grip on power slipped over the years under Justin Trudeau’s leadership.

When Liberal Leader Mark Carney called the election last month, his party held 23 seats, the Conservatives had eight, and one seat — a Halifax riding previously held by a Liberal — was vacant.

The latest polls were suggesting strong support for Liberals across the Atlantic region, but the Conservatives — led by Pierre Poilievre — were expected to hold on to some of their seats, while the New Democrats under Jagmeet Singh could be shut out again.

Pundits say Poilievre’s aggressive, populist style of leadership has been a tough sell in Atlantic Canada, where traditional Progressive Conservatives — including Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston — have largely shunned the federal Tory leader, who visited Nova Scotia only once during the campaign.

Meanwhile, Carney’s focus on dealing with the economic chaos unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump has paid dividends for the Liberals, whose approval ratings were higher in Atlantic Canada than in any other region.

During the last week of the campaign, Carney travelled to Upper Onslow, N.S., where he told supporters that Trump is “trying to break us as a nation because they want to own us.”

He compared the ongoing trade war to a tough hockey game, saying: “When someone else drops the gloves, we know what to do.”

By contrast, Poilievre painted a bleak picture of Canada’s future when he stopped in Halifax for a campaign event last week, He cited a Policy Horizons Canada study that suggests that by 2040, Canadians might lose faith in traditional notions of “moving up” the social and economic ladder.

He also said many Canadians already feel desperate, as they are unable to afford a home or buy a car after almost a decade of Liberal rule.

The Tory leader’s approach was a reminder of how he had spent much of the past two years atop the polls by relentlessly slamming Trudeau’s Liberals and insisting that “Canada is broken.”

In St. John’s, N.L., a steady stream of voters lined up Monday morning at a polling station straddling the downtown neighbourhoods of Georgestown and Rabbittown. Neighbours chatted and laughed as they waited to cast their ballots beneath a wall of bright paintings at The Hub, a centre for people with disabilities.

Polls in Canada’s easternmost province were the first to open Monday morning, and when they shut down at 8:30 p.m. local time, they’ll be the first to close.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.

— With files from Sara Smellie in St. John’s, N.L.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press