Byelection candidates say they were prepared for possibility of weather forcing postponement

An important byelection in Conception Bay East-Bell Island has been moved to Tuesday because of poor weather, and candidates who spoke to CBC News said they were prepared for such a possibility in a winter election.

NDP candidate Kim Churchill told CBC News her team planned for a potential winter storm affecting the byelection.

"I've got a phenomenal team and they work really hard and they were prepared for this. They've talked about this from Day 1, 'what if,'" said Churchill. "It wasn't that big of a deal for us to be able to make some changes, and certainly we were ready for it."

She also said Elections N.L. made the right call by postponing voting.

"Safety is paramount. And that's [the] No. 1 thing, that we want to make sure that everyone is taken care of and that certainly nobody's putting their lives at risk to go out and vote today."

Liberal candidate Fred Hutton said he's been looking forward to election day but unfortunately, the weather didn't co-operate Monday.

"We kind of figured, you know, a winter election, this could happen," he said.

He said his team heard about a possible snowstorm a couple of days ago and planned for it. His campaigners were out in "full force" on Sunday, telling people where and how to vote, he said.

Churchill expressed concerns about how voter turnaround would be affected. She said she'd been told some people showed up at a polling station to vote but there was no notice on the door to notify them of the delay. She said she has spoken to Elections N.L. about that problem.

"I don't know how many people that affected this morning, and whether they would be able to get out tomorrow," she said.

Voting was slated to take place on Monday, but will now happen on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Eastern Newfoundland under storm warning

The eastern part of the island is under a winter storm warning, with up to 25 centimetres of snow in the forecast. Heavy winds gusting to 80 km/h are expected to arrive in the evening, causing whiteout conditions.

Snows are picking up across eastern Newfoundland. Residents of the Avalon Peninsula can expect between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow, according to CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler. The Burin and Bonavista peninsulas will see approximately 15 to 25 centimetres of snow. Clarenville, Terra Nova, and Gander will see a snow range of five to 15 centimetres.

"The good thing about this one is the snow will be light and fluffy, so it'll be a joy to get rid of," Brauweiler said. "It will not be that cement snow that we often see here in eastern Newfoundland. And then, once those winds pick up, that's when things will deteriorate."

"We won't start to see the blowing snow until the winds pick up, and that should be around 6 or 7 tonight."

The wind, she says, will persist until Tuesday afternoon.

The provincial Office of the Chief Electoral Officer says the weather forced the postponement of the byelection.

"The safety of electors and staff is our primary focus, while providing electors with a fair opportunity to vote," reads a news release from spokesperson Rexanne Eddy.

While the release said some polling locations might change for Tuesday's vote, an update from Eddy later Monday said there would be no changes.

School closures

Students in the metro St. John's region headed home three hours early Monday due to the storm. 

NLSchools made the announcement at 6 a.m., about six hours ahead of the expected start of snowfall. 

Other schools — including ones in Clarenville, Conception Bay North and Port Rexton — decided to close all day.

A full list of school closures can be found here.

Clarenville, Bonavista and Burin are expected to see between 10 and 20 centimetres of snow, with winds gusting slightly less than those in St. John's. It is expected to begin around noon and last until midnight. 

Tory stronghold up for grabs

The byelection — triggered by the resignation of former interim PC leader David Brazil — features four candidates with roots in the region. 

Tina Neary, a town councillor in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, is representing the PCs.

Longtime broadcaster Hutton has campaigned hard for the Liberals, with support from the premier and cabinet ministers. 

The NDP's Churchill has made a name advocating for her deaf son in a battle against the school district.

Darryl Harding, another Portugal Cove-St. Philip's town councillor and former PC district association president, is running as an Independent.

The Tories won handily in the last election, garnering 56 per cent of the vote. That was a decrease from the 2019 election, however, when Brazil won 74 per cent of voters' approval.

The governing Liberals feel they have a strong candidate in Hutton, who is a household name in the province after a lengthy career that saw him host flagship radio and TV shows with NTV, VOCM and the CBC. 

The NDP have put Churchill front and centre of late, as evidenced at a news conference last week in which she commented on health-care vacancies in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

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