Liberals claim 10 of 11 ridings in Nova Scotia

The Liberal Party took most of the seat in the Maritimes in the federal election.

Jessica Fancy-Landry entered her constituency office for the first time Tuesday as an MP-elect for her Nova Scotia riding.

“When they first started posting results and it was back-and-forth and back-and-forth, my heart was in my throat a little bit, I’m not going to lie,” she said.

By the end of the federal election Monday, the first-time Liberal candidate had beat Conservative incumbent Rick Perkins by more than 7,000 votes.

South Shore-St. Margarets is now one of 10 ridings in Nova Scotia to back Mark Carney and the Liberal Party.

“I think the 10 of us are really excited to start to work together in terms of, how do we make positive change with jumpstarting the economy?” Fancy-Landry says.

At dissolution, the Conservatives held three seats but after the election the Liberal Party had converted two of them to red ridings.

“It seems pretty clear to me that many people who voted for the PC majority at the provincial level also voted for the Carney Liberals at the federal level so there seems to be a synergy there that has created an interesting political coalition,” says Jeff MacLeod, political science professor with Mount Saint Vincent University.

The other riding to swing to the Liberals is Cumberland-Colchester.

The only Conservative to hold onto his seat in Nova Scotia was Chris d’Entremont in Acadie-Annapolis. MacLeod thinks that support could lead to a close relationship between the province and Ottawa.

“It could be a fairly positive one if Premier Houston continues to separate himself from the brand of conservatism that was seemingly closer to the Trump version,” he said.

Nationally, the Liberals only have 470,000 more votes than the Conservatives, but are currently three seats from a majority government.

“It’s concerning that there’s such a divide in the country. I think that Mr. Carney has a big job to work across the aisle and so do all the people who have gotten in as Liberals. The Conservatives need to do the same,” says voter Robin Hendra.

That’s something Fancy-Landry is prepared to do, saying she wants to be as visible in Ottawa as she is in her riding.

CTV News reached out to Chris d’Entremont but didn’t hear back by deadline.

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