The 2007 Provincial Election in Newfoundland and Labrador

On the surface, there was nothing special about the 2007 Newfoundland and Labrador general election, which saw Danny Williams re-elected for a second term as Premier. That his Progressive Conservatives would win a solid majority was never in doubt. There were no emerging issues, major gaffes or innovative campaign tactics, and few tight races. The de facto referendum on Williams’ leadership became a coronation. As Mackinnon (2007: 1) wrote about the Prince Edward Island election held five months earlier, “some campaigns are over before they begin.” In this case the only intrigue was how many Liberal or New Democratic Party candidates would form the opposition. However the results do illustrate that a relatively homogenous electorate can rally around a leader who decries the province’s status in the Canadian federation. Furthermore, when elected officials from all major parties have been implicated in a scandal, many electors respond by not participating in politics. Political scientists can therefore draw comparative insights, such as asymmetrical federalism reminiscent of Quebec Premier Jean Lesage in the early 1960s, political scandal similar to the Grant Devine administration of Saskatchewan in the early 1990s, or about civic engagement generally

Could Labour and the Liberal Democrats merge? If so, they should look to Canada for inspiration

The Labour and Liberal Democrat Parties are both currently reeling from disastrous 2015 election results, with both in the process of electing new leaders following the resignations of Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. But could the two parties, until recently at loggerheads, ever become one? Alex Marland argues that the two parties should look to Canada for inspiration both on why and how if they are minded to travel down this path

Cutting the size of a parliament: we should consider process and resources not just numbers

When political leaders say we should cut the number of politicians, what are their motives? Alex Marland found that the rationale is largely symbolic, rather than grounded in any considered approach to legislature size, and used as a populist framing for more general cost-cutting. A more coherent approach should include attention to the process of cutting, and to overall resources for backbench politicians

More Than the Usual Turmoil: The 2019 Provincial Election in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador has endured political turmoil coinciding with a precipitous drop in offshore oil revenues and the multi-billion dollar cost of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric megaproject. This article summarizes the political turbulance under Premier Dwight Ball after his Liberal Party formed government in 2015 and summarizes the contrast of a relatively uneventful election campaign in 2019. The results however reflect widespread public discontent. The Liberals formed the province's first minority government since the early 1970s, inviting doubt about the premier's political future

A Race for Second Place: The 2011 Provincial Election in Newfoundland and Labrador

This descriptive summary of the 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador election profiles a campaign that had two signifi-cant, if predictable, outcomes: Kathy Dunderdale became the first woman in the province’s history to lead her party to victory and for the first time the New Democratic Party (NDP) placed second in the popular vote. As with the previ-ous election in 2007, that the Progressive Conservative (PC) party would continue to run the government was never in doubt, and the main question was again how many seats the Liberals and NDP would win. This time, however, there was plenty of intrigue about which party would form and lead the official opposition

In vivo validation of a miniaturized electrochemical oxygen sensor for measuring intestinal oxygen tension

Recent advances in the fields of electronics and microfabrication techniques have led to the development of implantable medical devices for use within the field of precision medicine. Monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension (ptO2) by means of an implantable sensor is potentially useful in many clinical situations including the peri-operative management of patients undergoing intestinal resection and anastomosis. This concept could provide a means by which treatment could be tailored to individual patients. This study describes the in vivo validation of a novel miniaturised electrochemical O2 sensor to provide real-time data on intestinal ptO2. A single O2 sensor was placed onto the serosal surface of the small intestine of anaesthetised rats that were exposed to ischaemic (superior mesenteric artery occlusion) and hypoxaemic (alterations in inspired fractional O2 concentrations) insults. Control experiments demonstrated that the sensors function and remain stable in an in vivo environment. Intestinal ptO2 decreased following superior mesenteric artery occlusion and with reductions in inspired O2 concentrations. These results were reversible after reinstating blood flow or increasing inspired O2 concentrations. We have successfully developed an anaesthetised rat intestinal ischaemic and hypoxic model for validation of a miniaturised O2 sensor to provide real-time measurement of intestinal ptO2. Our results support further validation of the sensors in physiological conditions using a large animal model to provide evidence of their use in clinical applications where monitoring visceral surface tissue O2 tension is important

Promotional and Other Spending by Party Candidates in the 2006 Canadian Federal Election Campaign

This article describes the types of goods and services purchased by Bloc Québécois, Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election campaign. Observations are made on thousands of spending declarations included in election returns filed with Elections Canada, such as newspaper advertising, signs, telemarketing, and even windshield repair. Particular attention is paid to types of communications suppliers, party centralization, and winter electioneering while trends are identified in media, technology, labour, professionalization, and political finance. The result is a descriptive summary of a wide variety of promotional and administrative functions which can supplement other studies of constituency campaigning

Public Opinion Monitoring by Provincial Governments: The Prevalance of Open Line Radio in Newfoundland and Labrador

This article advances an argument that within small polities local political talk radio may be treated as a barometer of public opinion. Survey research and media monitoring spending data were collected from provincial government departments across Canada. The data indicate that larger provinces turn to opinion polls, that the Quebec government is a heavy user of media monitoring services and that, in particular, government elites in Newfoundland and Labrador pay considerable attention to local open line call-in shows