This should be about it for the Canadian election.
Ontario saw the Liberals lose a number of seats, mainly to the Conservatives with the NDP making gains. The NDP lost one seat in Ontario to the Liberals while gaining five seats in Northern Ontario and one near Niagara Falls. The Conservatives gained three ridings on the outskirts of Toronto, one in the far north of the province, and four ridings in Western Ontario.
Toronto is dominated comprehensively by the Liberal Party. Prior to the election, the Conservatives held only two ridings around Oshawa, a smaller city to the immediate east of Toronto. The NDP also held three seats in inner-city Toronto, including seats held by NDP leader Jack Layton and his wife Olivia Chow. The NDP lost the seat of Parkdale-High Park to the Liberals, while Layton and Chow held on. The Conservatives also won two seats at the edge of Toronto, Brampton West and Thornhill.
Central Ontario is dominated by the Conservatives. Only one of the eleven Central Ontario ridings was held by the Liberals prior to the election. This seat, Newmarket-Aurora, is a urban riding on the northern edge of Toronto, as opposed to the largely rural ridings that dominate this region. It was won by the Conservatives at this week’s election.
Eastern Ontario is made up of the rural ridings around Ottawa, bordering Quebec and New York State. Six of the seven ridings were won by the Conservatives in 2006, with the exception of Kingston and the Islands, won by the Liberal Party. There were no changes in 2008.
Ottawa consists of four fringe ridings held by the Conservatives, two suburban ridings held by the Liberals and an inner-city riding held by the NDP. There were no changes in 2008.
Hamilton, Burlington & Niagara covers those towns and the entire coast of Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Falls. Out of the ten ridings, six are held by the Conservatives, while the three ridings in the town of Hamilton are held by the NDP. The riding of Welland, the only one won by the Liberal Party in 2006, was won by the NDP in 2008. All others remained in Conservative or NDP hands, respectively.
Midwestern Ontario covers the part of Ontario between the coasts of Lake Erie and Lake Huron. It includes a number of rural ridings, as well as one riding in the town of Guelph and three ridings in Kitchener. Prior to the recent election, the Liberals held five seats, with the Conservatives holding six. The Conservatives won three seats off the Liberals: both of the Liberal seats in Kitchener, as well as the riding of Brant.
Southwestern Ontario covers the tip of Ontario reaching close to the city of Detroit in the US state of Michigan. It has ten ridings. The five rural ridings are held by the Conservatives. The three ridings in the city of London and the two ridings in the city of Windsor were held by the NDP and Liberals. The NDP retained its three ridings, two in Windsor and one in London. The Liberals lost one of its two seats in London to the Conservatives.
Northern Ontario covers most of the land mass of Ontario, bordering Manitoba and Hudson Bay. The southernmost riding remains in Conservative hands. The other nine ridings were previously dominated by the Liberals, winning seven ridings to the NDP’s two ridings. The Liberals held onto one of these ridings, while five others were lost to the NDP and one to the Conservatives.
Manitoba elected eight Conservatives, three Liberals and three NDP in 2006. The NDP won the vast riding of Churchill, covering half of the landmass of the province, off the Liberals in 2008. The Conservatives won the Winnipeg riding of Saint Boniface off the Liberals.
Saskatchewan elected twelve Conservatives and two Liberals in 2006. A 2008 by-election in Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River was won by the Conservatives off the Liberals. The 2008 election saw the parties stay stable, with only one Liberal elected in Wascana.
Alberta, with 28 ridings, is the fourth-biggest province. In 2006, every single riding elected a Conservative, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In 2008 the NDP won the seat of Edmonton-Strathcona off the Conservatives in a surprise result.
British Columbia elected 17 Conservatives, 10 New Democrats and 9 Liberals at the 2006 election. Since then Liberal Blair Wilson became an independent and then a Green MP. The Conservatives won the NDP seats of Vancouver Island North and Surrey North, as well as the formerly Liberal seats of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, North Vancouver, and Richmond. In Vancouver-Kingsway, David Emerson, who defected to the Conservatives from the Liberals after the 2006 election, the NDP won the seat. This resulted in 22 Conservatives, 9 New Democrats and 5 Liberals.
Great run down of the election, thanks.
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