1970 Nova Scotia general election

1970 Nova Scotia general election
← 1967 October 13, 1970 1974 →
46 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
24 seats needed for a majority
Turnout77.32% Increase0.32pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Lib
PC
NDP
Leader Gerald Regan George Isaac Smith Jeremy Akerman
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative New Democratic
Leader since July 24, 1965 November 4, 1967 November 9, 1968
Leader's seat Halifax Needham Colchester Ran in Cape Breton East (won)
Last election 6 40 0
Seats won 23 21 2
Seat change Increase17 Decrease19 Increase2
Popular vote 174,943 177,986 25,259
Percentage 45.63% 46.43% 6.59%
Swing Increase4.14pp Decrease5.96pp Increase1.40pp
Premier before election

George Isaac Smith
Progressive Conservative

Premier after election

Gerald Regan
Liberal

The 1970 Nova Scotia general election was held on 13 October 1970 to elect members of the 50th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Liberal Party of Gerald Regan won the most seats but were one seat short of a majority. It is the only election in Nova Scotia's history in which the party who won the popular vote did not win the most seats.

Results

Results by party

↓
23 21 2
Liberal Progressive Conservative New Democratic
Official results [1][2]
Party Party leader # of
candidates 		Seats Popular vote
1967 Dissolution Elected Change # % Change (pp)
  Liberal Gerald Regan 46 6 5 23 +17 174,943 45.63% +4.14%
  Progressive Conservative George Isaac Smith 46 40 41 21 -19 177,986 46.43% -5.96%
  New Democratic Jeremy Akerman 23 0 0 2 +2 25,259 6.59% +1.40%
  Independent 2 0 0 0 0 1,464 0.38% +0.24%
  Vacant 0  
Total valid votes 379,652 99.03% -0.19%
Blank and invalid ballots 3,704 0.97% +0.19%
Total 117 46 46 46 – 383,356 100.00% –
Registered voters / turnout 453,727 77.32%[3] +0.32%
Popular vote
PC
 
 46.43%
Liberal
 
 45.63%
New Democratic
 
 6.59%
Independent
 
 0.38%
Seats summary
Liberal
 
 50.00%
PC
 
 45.65%
New Democratic
 
 4.35%

Results by region

Party name HRM Cape Breton Annapolis Valley South Shore Fundy-Northeast Central Nova Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature
  Liberal Seats: 9 2 4 4 1 3 23
  Popular vote: 51.93% 34.59% 50.85% 50.49% 45.08% 46.16% 45.63%
  Progressive Conservative Seats: 1 6 4 3 5 2 21
  Popular vote: 42.77% 46.14% 48.80% 48.46% 52.91% 46.50% 46.43%
  New Democratic Party Seats: 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
  Popular vote: 5.30% 17.76% – 1.06% 2.01% 7.34% 6.59%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature
Independent Popular vote: – 1.50% 0.35% – – – 0.38%
Total seats: 10 10 8 7 6 5 46

Retiring incumbents

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
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Annapolis East Gerry Sheehy
2,836
54.36% 		Lloyd K. Hill
2,381
45.64% 		John I. Marshall†
Annapolis West H. Robert Sanford
2,048
46.03% 		Peter M. Nicholson
2,401
53.97% 		Peter M. Nicholson
Clare Paul J. Comeau
1,833
40.33% 		Benoit Comeau
2,712
59.67% 		Benoit Comeau
Digby Gifford W. Lewis
2,142
42.46% 		Joseph H. Casey
2,903
57.54% 		Robert Baden Powell†
Hants West Norman T. Spence
3,708
48.27% 		Robert D. Lindsay
3,974
51.73% 		Norman T. Spence
Kings North Victor Thorpe
3,234
51.24% 		Glenn Ells
3,077
48.76% 		Victor Thorpe
Kings South Harry How
2,722
57.55% 		Ed Aston
2,008
42.45% 		Edward Haliburton†
Kings West Gordon Tidman
3,736
48.96%[4] 		Frank Bezanson
3,735
48.95% 		Francis Keith Boates
160
2.10% 		Gordon Tidman

South Shore

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Lunenburg Centre George O. Lohnes
4,040
45.43% 		Walton Cook
4,852
54.57% 		George O. Lohnes
Lunenburg East Maurice L. Zinck
2,092
51.31% 		Eric Hagen
1,985
48.69% 		Maurice L. Zinck
Lunenburg West Bob Levy
2,717
46.82% 		Maurice DeLory
3,086
53.18% 		Harley J. Spence†
Queens W. S. Kennedy Jones
3,068
51.99% 		Harley Umphrey
2,833
48.01% 		W. S. Kennedy Jones
Shelburne Bill Cox
3,321
43.74% 		Harold Huskilson
3,725
49.06% 		Aubrey Harding
547
7.20% 		James McKay Harding†
Yarmouth Benoit Robichaud
4,896
25.16% 		Fraser Mooney
5,039
25.90% 		Benoit Robichaud
George A. Snow
4,929
25.33% 		Jack Rogers
4,592
23.60% 		George A. Snow

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Colchester Gerald Ritcey
8,012
24.56% 		Ross Hill
7,313
22.42% 		Gerald Ritcey
George Isaac Smith
9,398
28.81% 		George Norrie
7,901
24.22% 		George Isaac Smith
Cumberland Centre Raymond M. Smith
2,220
54.87% 		Bill H. Mont
1,611
39.82% 		John E. Burbine
215
5.31% 		Raymond M. Smith
Cumberland East Roger Stuart Bacon
4,355
51.89% 		Leonard J. Dolan
3,142
37.44% 		James M. MacSwain
895
10.66% 		James A. Langille†
Cumberland West D. L. George Henley
2,458
57.35% 		Thomas H. Tonner
1,828
42.65% 		D. L. George Henley
Hants East Albert J. Ettinger
2,793
47.27% 		Jack Hawkins
3,115
52.73% 		Albert J. Ettinger

Halifax/Dartmouth/Eastern Shore

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Halifax Atlantic John Buchanan
5,284
54.66% 		Bob Hayes
3,786
39.16% 		Charles Grineault
597
6.18% 		John Buchanan
Halifax Chebucto James H. Vaughan
4,015
38.34% 		James L. Connolly
5,276
50.39% 		Burris Devanney
1,180
11.27% 		James H. Vaughan
Halifax Citadel Donald MacKeen Smith
3,833
45.60% 		Ronald Wallace
4,572
54.40% 		Donald MacKeen Smith
Halifax Cobequid Gordon H. Fitzgerald
5,427
42.69% 		George Riley
6,453
50.76% 		Bruno Dombrowski
833
6.55% 		Gordon H. Fitzgerald
Halifax Cornwallis Richard Donahoe
3,891
39.27% 		George M. Mitchell
5,323
53.72% 		Barrett D. Halderman
694
7.00% 		Richard Donahoe
Halifax Eastern Shore Murray Everett Ritcey
4,029
41.91% 		Alexander Garnet Brown
5,585
58.09% 		Alexander Garnet Brown
Halifax Needham David MacKeen
2,887
37.05% 		Gerald Regan
4,514
57.92% 		Al Sinclair
392
5.03% 		Gerald Regan
Halifax-St. Margaret's D. C. McNeil
4,729
39.74% 		Leonard L. Pace
6,152
51.69% 		Keith Jobson
1,020
8.57% 		D. C. McNeil
Dartmouth North Gerald G. Wambolt
4,826
39.59% 		Glen M. Bagnell
6,614
54.26% 		Percy William Dares
750
6.15% 		Gerald G. Wambolt
Dartmouth South Irvin William Akerley
5,213
49.57% 		D. Scott MacNutt
5,304
50.43% 		Irvin William Akerley

Central Nova

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Antigonish Bill Shaw
3,594
45.72% 		Bill Gillis
4,002
50.91% 		Alex MacPherson
265
3.37% 		William F. MacKinnon†
Guysborough Angus MacIsaac
3,035
47.86% 		Russell Pellerin
2,770
43.68% 		Al Newell
537
8.47% 		Angus MacIsaac
Pictou Centre Donald R. MacLeod
4,922
43.75% 		Ralph F. Fiske
5,356
47.61% 		Derrick Peter Kearley
972
8.64% 		Donald R. MacLeod
Pictou East Thomas MacQueen
2,981
47.18% 		A. Lloyd MacDonald
3,000
47.48% 		Charles E. Arbuckle
338
5.35% 		Thomas MacQueen
Pictou West Harvey Veniot
2,729
51.00% 		Laurence Mawhinney
2,008
37.53% 		Robert Cormier
614
11.47% 		Harvey Veniot

Cape Breton

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Independent
Cape Breton Centre Mike Laffin
3,680
50.54% 		Stewart Marsh
1,902
26.12% 		Alex MacDonald
1,700
23.35% 		Mike Laffin
Cape Breton East Layton Fergusson
3,807
34.06% 		Bob MacKay
2,037
18.22% 		Jeremy Akerman
5,334
47.72% 		Layton Fergusson
Cape Breton North Tom MacKeough
5,755
50.04% 		Sidney Oram
2,885
25.09% 		Len J. Arsenault
2,860
24.87% 		Tom MacKeough
Cape Breton Nova Percy Gaum
2,866
42.45% 		Ronald DiPenta
959
14.20% 		Paul MacEwan
2,927
43.35% 		Percy Gaum
Cape Breton South John Francis Burke
5,234
44.36% 		Vince MacLean
5,034
42.66% 		Don MacPherson
1,531
12.98% 		Donald C. MacNeil†
Cape Breton West Kenneth Andrews
4,843
49.08% 		Allan Sullivan
5,024
50.92% 		Edward Manson†
Inverness Norman J. MacLean
4,607
25.23% 		William N. MacLean
3,939
21.57% 		Jerry Yetman
556
3.05% 		Al Davis
1,304
7.14% 		Norman J. MacLean
Joe Shannon
3,728
20.42% 		John Archie MacKenzie
4,124
22.59% 		William N. MacLean
Richmond Gerald Doucet
3,439
55.67% 		Melvin J. Burt
2,411
39.03% 		Charles Joseph Gallant
327
5.29% 		Gerald Doucet
Victoria Fisher Hudson
2,075
52.53% 		W. Harry F. Langley
1,700
43.04% 		Jessie Stone
175
4.43% 		Fisher Hudson

References

  1. ^ "Election Returns 1970" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Election Returns 1970 Recapitulation" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ While 383,356 votes were cast, only 350,879 electors voted as Colchester, Inverness and Yarmouth electors voted for two candidates.
  4. ^ Due to a tie, the Returning Officer cast the tie-breaking vote for Gordon Tidman

Further reading