Just under 14K N.L. Liberals eligible to vote in Abbott-Hogan leadership contest

Just under 14,000 Liberals will have a say in selecting the party's next leader, and Newfoundland and Labrador's 15th premier, as the race to replace outgoing Premier Andrew Furey enters the home stretch.

Party officials confirmed on Tuesday that 13,844 people signed up by the March 31 deadline to vote for either John Abbott or John Hogan, with voting by telephone or electronically through a computer or smartphone set to begin on Thursday.

The leadership convention is scheduled for May 2 and 3 at the JAG Soundhouse in St. John's.

Voting ends at noon on Saturday, May 3, with the winner to be announced around mid-afternoon, according to Judy Murrow, who chairs the leadership election committee.

"Things have gone smoothly. The candidates have been great," said Murrow.

The number of eligible voters is considerably less than the two previous leadership contests. 

In 2013, nearly 24,000 Liberals voted in a contest that saw Dwight Ball emerge victorious among a field of five candidates, while in 2020, just over 21,000 Liberals voted in a contest that saw Andrew Furey defeat Abbott.

Murrow pointed to several reasons for the lower numbers in 2025, including a "significantly" shortened registration period. She said the party wanted to act swiftly to elect a new leader following Furey's surprise announcement in late February because a provincial election must be held before mid-October.

She says constitutional changes also required the party had to start from scratch in order to develop a roster of registered members.

In past leadership contests, registered Liberals and a category called "supporters" were eligible to vote. The supporter category was removed after the 2020 leadership contest, Murrow explained.

The leadership contest is also being overshadowed by a very consequential federal election campaign that began on March 23, with election day set for April 28.

Abbott and Hogan were both elected as MHAs in 2021, and have been waging a leadership campaign since early March. They each paid a $50,000 nomination fee, and separate from this fee, are restricted to a campaign spending limit of $200,000.

Eleven Liberal MHAs have publicly sided with Hogan, while six have endorsed Abbott.

Murrow says the voting process will ensure that all 40 districts have an equal say in the outcome, regardless of how many people registered from each district.

The vote to select a leader will be a preferential one-person, one-vote system, weighted by district, with 1,000 points up for grabs in each district.

For example, if a candidate receives 75 per cent of the first place votes in a district, that candidate will receive 750 points, while the other candidate will receive 250 points.

The first candidate to receive 20,001 points or more will win the contest.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.  Click here to visit our landing page.