Tories left with just 1 N.S. riding as Liberals make gains across province
The Liberals flipped 2 seats from the Conservatives
The Liberals dominated Nova Scotia in Monday's federal election, taking all but one of the province's 11 seats and toppling two Conservative incumbents along the way.
The victories came as CBC News projected the Liberals would form its fourth consecutive federal government, a remarkable win given the party was trailing in the polls mere months ago.
A winner was still not projected in the riding of Cumberland-Colchester as of Tuesday morning, as the race was too close to call with special ballots still to be counted. Later Tuesday, political newcomer Liberal Alana Hirtle was declared the winner, beating out Conservative incumbent Stephen Ellis.
"I'm humbled by the response and by the faith that people of Cumberland-Colchester have put in me to represent them in Ottawa," Hirtle told CBC News.
Liberal incumbent Darren Fisher, first elected to Ottawa in the 2015 election, was one of CBC's earliest projected winners, retaining the seat of Dartmouth-Cole Harbour.
A Halifax municipal councillor from 2009 to 2015, Fisher said he's happy to serve the people of his riding, but if he is tapped for Mark Carney's cabinet again, his pick would be for veterans affairs. He served a short few months as the veterans affairs minister before Carney shuffled him out in March.
Fisher became emotional when discussing the efforts people put into helping him to a projected fourth federal election win and being able to share the moment with his wife, children and mother.
"It never stops being overwhelming," he said at Colleen's Pub in Dartmouth, where about 50 people gathered to celebrate his victory.
Meanwhile, Conservative incumbent Chris d'Entremont was projected to win in Acadie-Annapolis — the party's only remaining seat in Nova Scotia.
Speaking to supporters at a seafood restaurant in Digby, d'Entremont thanked his family, campaign team and volunteers for supporting him and helping to return him to Ottawa.
"We've put thousands of kilometres from one end of Acadie-Annapolis to the other," he said.
D'Entremont said no two issues were bigger than cost of living and the fishery, where concerns have persisted about organized crime infiltrating the lobster fishery and some commercial fishermen have worried about Mi'kmaw fishers exercising their treaty rights to catch lobster outside the commercial season.
"I think we still have a lot of work to do to reel in illegal and unreported fisheries that continue to go on on our shores," he said.
Liberal Shannon Miedema, another first-time candidate, was projected to win in Halifax. Miedema's seat had been vacated by former Liberal MP Andy Fillmore after he announced his bid for the Halifax mayoralty last fall.
A former municipal staffer in the department of environment and climate change, Miedema said voters on the doorstep expressed fear and anxiety over the country's relationship with the U.S., and it's clear they have confidence in Carney to take on President Donald Trump.
"People have been watching the Liberal Party's response to the threats and the tariffs and the negotiations with Trump and have been liking that strong response," said Miedema.
In South Shore-St. Margarets, Liberal Jessica Fancy-Landry — who is also new to politics — was projected to win, unseating Conservative incumbent Rick Perkins.
Fancy-Landry, who has worked as a teacher and principal, won the nomination before Carney took over as Liberal leader at a time when the Conservatives appeared poised to hold on to the seat.
Her win was likely aided by the fact that the NDP did not have a candidate on the ballot in the riding.
Speaking to CBC News, Fancy-Landry said the issues on the doorstep that were top of mind for voters included the cost of living and the fishery.
The Liberals lost this seat in 2021, in large part because of the way the government was perceived as ignoring concerns about illegal fishing. Fancy-Landry said she's committed to working toward rebuilding trust between the sector and her party.
She said she's willing to be "that staunch advocate" on the issue, but she said there's something else she's committed to doing for the constituency.
"The thing that we were hearing the most on the phone and on the doors were people were wanting positivity and they were wanting someone to help unite a very divisive riding," she said.
Liberal Sean Fraser suffered a scare early in the night as he trailed Conservative Brycen Jenkins, but as advanced polling numbers started rolling in, the former cabinet minister surged ahead to a projected fourth consecutive victory.
Fraser announced late last year he would not re-offer, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. But Carney personally called him earlier this year and convinced him to throw his hat back in the ring, promising better work-life balance.
Speaking to CBC News, he said the national results are consistent with what he was hearing on the doorstep throughout the campaign.
"People were faced with a very clear choice," he said.
Although the Liberals could be returning a minority Parliament that often faced gridlock due to partisanship, Fraser said there will be opportunities for all MPs to work together to confront the challenges facing the country, even if it is on an issue-by-issue basis.
"Canadians do not want us to continually talk about what's wrong with the other party that we may be competing against, they want us to put our ideas on the table and work together to get things done."
Liberal Braedon Clark, a former MLA who lost his seat in November's provincial election, was projected to win in Sackville-Bedford-Preston. That riding was previously held by Liberal Darrell Samson, who did not re-offer.
Liberal incumbent Kody Blois was projected to win the riding of Kings-Hants, while Liberal incumbent Lena Metlege Diab was projected to win in Halifax West.
Meanwhile, in Cape Breton, Liberal Mike Kelloway was projected to win in Sydney-Glace Bay, while fellow Liberal Jaime Battiste was projected to win Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.
A member of the Eskasoni First Nation, Battiste was the first Mi'kmaw MP in Canada.
Following the last election in 2021, the Liberals held eight seats and the Conservatives held three.
With files from Preston Mulligan, Haley Ryan, Taryn Grant and Meig Campbell
