1978 Nova Scotia general election

1978 Nova Scotia general election

← 1974 September 19, 1978 1981 →

52 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
27 seats needed for a majority
Turnout78.23% Increase0.34pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
PC
Lib
NDP
Leader John Buchanan Gerald Regan Jeremy Akerman
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic
Leader since March 6, 1971 July 24, 1965 November 9, 1968
Leader's seat Halifax Atlantic Halifax Needham Cape Breton East
Last election 12 31 3
Seats won 31 17 4
Seat change Increase19 Decrease14 Increase1
Popular vote 203,500 175,218 63,979
Percentage 45.48% 39.16% 14.30%
Swing Increase7.17pp Decrease8.41pp Increase1.43pp

Premier before election

Gerald Regan
Liberal

Premier after election

John Buchanan
Progressive Conservative

The 1978 Nova Scotia general election was held on September 19, 1978, to elect members of the 52nd House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party.

Results

Results by party

31 17 4
Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic
Official results [1][2]
Party Party leader # of
candidates
Seats Popular vote
1974 Dissolution Elected Change # % Change (pp)
  Progressive Conservative John Buchanan 52 12 12 31 +19 203,500 45.48% +7.17%
  Liberal Gerald Regan 52 31 30 17 -14 175,218 39.16% -8.41%
  New Democratic Jeremy Akerman 52 3 3 4 +1 63,979 14.30% +1.43%
  Independent 6 0 0 0 0 2,008 0.45% -0.06%
  Vacant 1  
Total valid votes 444,705 99.39% +0.13%
Blank and invalid ballots 2,739 0.61% -0.13%
Total 162 46 46 52 +6 447,444 100.00%
Registered voters / turnout 542,547 78.23%[3] +0.34%
Popular vote
PC
45.48%
Liberal
39.16%
New Democratic
14.30%
Independent
0.45%
Seats summary
PC
59.62%
Liberal
32.69%
New Democratic
7.69%

Results by region

Party name HRM Cape Breton Annapolis Valley South Shore Fundy-Northeast Central Nova Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature
  Progressive Conservative Seats: 12 0 6 4 6 3 31
  Popular vote: 52.01% 31.95% 51.35% 44.73% 50.28% 48.32% 45.48%
  Liberal Seats: 2 7 2 3 1 2 17
  Popular vote: 34.50% 42.78% 40.27% 44.10% 40.66% 36.74% 39.16%
  New Democratic Party Seats: 0 4 0 0 0 0 4
  Popular vote: 12.99% 25.27% 8.38% 9.48% 8.91% 14.48% 14.30%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature
Independent Popular vote: 0.49% 1.68% 0.14% 0.46% 0.45%
Total seats: 14 11 8 7 7 5 52

Retiring incumbents

Liberal
Progressive Conservative

Nominated candidates

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Valley

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Annapolis East Carl L. Bruce
2,470
36.37%
Gerry Sheehy
3,863
56.88%
Roger A. Boutilier
458
6.74%
Gerry Sheehy
Annapolis West Peter M. Nicholson
2,329
43.78%
Greg Kerr
2,690
50.56%
Larry Duchesne
301
5.66%
Peter M. Nicholson
Clare Benoit Comeau
2,963
56.47%
Gerald J.B. Comeau
1,896
36.13%
Sylvio Gagnon
388
7.39%
Benoit Comeau
Digby Joseph H. Casey
3,048
51.56%
John Comeau
2,603
44.03%
John Gray
261
4.41%
Joseph H. Casey
Hants West Robert D. Lindsay
3,485
38.08%
Ron Russell
4,872
53.23%
Bill Shiers
795
8.69%
Robert D. Lindsay
Kings North Glenn Ells
3,283
42.77%
Edward Twohig
3,744
48.78%
Donald C. Fraser
649
8.45%
Glenn Ells
Kings South Wilbur H. Starratt
1,526
22.66%
Harry How
4,214
62.58%
Donald F. Archibald
994
14.76%
Harry How
Kings West Frank Bezanson
3,559
37.71%
George Moody
5,011
53.09%
William J. Dyer
869
9.21%
Frank Bezanson

South Shore

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Lunenburg Centre Jack Pelley
3,156
30.23%
Bruce Cochran
5,764
55.22%
Scott D. Miller
425
4.07%
Walton Cook
1,094
10.48%
Bruce Cochran
Lunenburg East Wally MacDonald
1,417
28.01%
Ron Barkhouse
3,386
66.93%
Robert Whiting Sr.
256
5.06%
Ron Barkhouse
Lunenburg West Maurice DeLory
2,791
36.54%
Mel Pickings
3,907
51.15%
G.M. Dean
941
12.32%
Maurice DeLory
Queens Keith Wyer
2,440
33.85%
John Leefe
3,800
52.72%
A.J. d'Entremont
968
13.43%
John Wickwire
Shelburne Harold Huskilson
3,932
45.06%
A. Etheren Goreham
3,682
42.20%
Jane A. Strange
1,112
12.74%
Harold Huskilson
Yarmouth Fraser Mooney
7,568
29.25%
Dorothy M. Crosby
4,389
16.96%
Hartley Wickens
1,268
4.90%
Fraser Mooney
Hugh Tinkham
7,339
28.36%
Harold H. Hanf
4,122
15.93%
Charles Paddock
1,190
4.60%
Hugh Tinkham

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Colchester North Floyd Tucker
3,023
43.30%
Bill Campbell
3,447
49.37%
Peter Robben
512
7.33%
Floyd Tucker
Colchester
Colchester South Ed Lorraine
2,187
38.11%
R. Colin Stewart
3,230
56.28%
Chester Rice
322
5.61%
Melinda MacLean
Colchester
Cumberland Centre Guy Brown
2,515
53.75%
Russell Fisher
1,354
28.94%
Dennis R. Calder
810
17.31%
Guy Brown
Cumberland East Norman J. Mansour
3,234
34.15%
Roger Stuart Bacon
4,955
52.33%
Francis Soontiens
1,280
13.52%
Roger Stuart Bacon
Cumberland West Duncan Lake
2,292
43.72%
D. L. George Henley
2,633
50.23%
John S. Edgecombe
317
6.05%
D. L. George Henley
Hants East Jack Hawkins
3,294
42.15%
G. Patrick Hunt
4,035
51.63%
Clair White
486
6.22%
Jack Hawkins
Truro—Bible Hill Peter Wilson
3,160
37.04%
Ron Giffin
4,713
55.24%
Tom Barron
589
6.90%
Bob Kirk
70
0.82%
New riding

Central Halifax

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Halifax Bedford Basin Wilfred Moore
4,081
35.08%
Joel Matheson
6,325
54.36%
Tom Orman
1,229
10.56%
New riding
Halifax Chebucto Walter Fitzgerald
3,998
44.28%
Margaret Stanbury
3,733
41.34%
Donald F. Mielke
1,298
14.38%
Walter Fitzgerald
Halifax Citadel Ronald Wallace
3,525
37.82%
Art Donahoe
3,780
40.56%
Michael Bradfield
2,015
21.62%
Ronald Wallace
Halifax Cornwallis George M. Mitchell
3,104
31.77%
Terry Donahoe
4,446
45.51%
Michael Coyle
2,220
22.72%
George M. Mitchell
Halifax Needham Gerald Regan
3,553
43.38%
Pat Curran
3,416
41.70%
James Miller
1,222
14.92%
Gerald Regan

Suburban Halifax

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Bedford-Musquodoboit Valley Jim MacLean
2,743
32.65%
Ken Streatch
4,951
58.93%
Gerald B. Hoganson
708
8.43%
New riding
Halifax Atlantic Jerry F. Blom
2,303
22.28%
John Buchanan
6,628
64.13%
Susan Holtz
1,274
12.33%
Art Canning
131
1.27%
John Buchanan
Halifax-St. Margaret's Terry Tingley
3,149
32.45%
Jerry Lawrence
5,277
54.38%
Garry Richard Craig
1,278
13.17%
Leonard L. Pace
Sackville George Doucet
3,554
34.47%
Malcolm A. MacKay
5,247
50.89%
Doug MacDonald
990
9.60%
Evan Morgan
519
5.03%
George Doucet
Halifax Cobequid

Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Cole Harbour Peter Sawler
2,782
35.59%
David Nantes
4,278
54.73%
Daniel laFitte
757
9.68%
New riding
Dartmouth East Barbara Hart
3,488
36.27%
Richard L. Weldon
5,098
53.02%
Gabriel Des Rochers
1,030
10.71%
New riding
Dartmouth North Glen M. Bagnell
2,927
33.94%
Laird Stirling
4,561
52.89%
Nick Rolls
1,135
13.16%
Glen M. Bagnell
Dartmouth South Norman Crawford
2,365
25.38%
Roland J. Thornhill
5,530
59.35%
Mike Marshall
1,423
15.27%
Roland J. Thornhill
Halifax Eastern Shore Alexander Garnet Brown
3,911
40.07%
Tom McInnis
5,298
54.28%
Daniel Matheson
552
5.66%
Alexander Garnet Brown

Central Nova

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Antigonish Bill Gillis
4,689
49.82%
Bill McNeil
3,713
39.45%
John Arthur Murphy
1,010
10.73%
Bill Gillis
Guysborough A.M. "Sandy" Cameron
3,306
47.87%
Jim Johnson
3,293
47.68%
Kevin Patrick Keeping
307
4.45%
A.M. "Sandy" Cameron
Pictou Centre Erskine Cumming
2,313
20.00%
Jack MacIsaac
6,056
52.36%
Austin Sutton
3,068
26.52%
Jim Beck
130
1.12%
Jack MacIsaac
Pictou East W.G. Bill Munro
2,364
32.30%
Donald Cameron
4,315
58.96%
Bill Mitton
639
8.73%
Donald Cameron
Pictou West Dan Reid
2,735
40.61%
Donald P. McInnes
2,888
42.89%
John McDonald
1,047
15.55%
Lloyd H. MacLellan
64
0.95%
Dan Reid

Cape Breton

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
Liberal PC NDP Independent
Cape Breton Centre Francis MacLean
2,993
36.96%
Peter MacKinnon
1,510
18.65%
Buddy MacEachern
3,594
44.39%
Buddy MacEachern
Cape Breton East Vincent Kachafanas
3,109
27.21%
Frank Edwards
3,182
27.85%
Jeremy Akerman
5,135
44.94%
Jeremy Akerman
Cape Breton North Barry LeBlanc
2,782
28.17%
Tom MacKeough
3,215
32.56%
Len J. Arsenault
3,878
39.27%
Tom MacKeough
Cape Breton Nova Earle Tubrett
2,867
34.60%
Percy Gaum
1,502
18.12%
Paul MacEwan
3,918
47.28%
Paul MacEwan
Cape Breton South Vince MacLean
7,041
59.84%
Donald C. MacNeil
2,761
23.46%
Sandy MacNeil
1,965
16.70%
Vince MacLean
Cape Breton—The Lakes Ossie Fraser
3,473
46.26%
Jim MacDonald
2,642
35.19%
Irene LeBlanc
1,393
18.55%
New riding
Cape Breton West David Muise
3,664
36.80%
"Big" Donnie MacLeod
3,081
30.95%
Frank Boone
3,211
32.25%
Ossie Fraser
Inverness William MacEachern
6,270
27.10%
Bernie MacLean
5,412
23.39%
Archie A. Chisholm
644
2.78%
William MacEachern
John Archie MacKenzie
5,632
24.34%
Bill MacIsaac
4,614
19.94%
Joyce Campbell
563
2.43%
John Archie MacKenzie
Richmond Gaston LeBlanc
3,287
49.39%
Eva Landry
2,446
36.75%
Bruce Wright
922
13.85%
Gaston LeBlanc
Victoria Peter John Nicholson
2,199
48.29%
Catherine MacNeil Jankowski
1,992
43.74%
Steve Lake
363
7.97%
Vacant

References

  1. ^ "Election Returns 1978" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "Election Returns 1978 Recapitulation" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  3. ^ While 447,444 votes were cast, only 424,418 electors voted as Inverness and Yarmouth electors voted for two candidates.