It may have taken a day longer than we anticipated, but Monday’s federal election saw Mark Carney’s Liberals regain the popular vote and for a minority government—narrowly missing out on a majority.
Nationally, the election saw a record-breaking voter turnout. Elections Canada estimated that 7.3 million Canadians voted early—a 25 per cent increase from the 5.8 million voters who cast their ballots early in the 2021 election.
Results as of Wednesday morning show voter turnout was 68.7 per cent of registered electors. That’s compared with 62.6 per cent in the last election in 2021.
Nova Scotians—like Canadians across the country—showed up in droves to vote. Preliminary results show that 72.25 per cent of eligible voters in Nova Scotia voted—even higher than the national average.
Where did voters come out the most (and the least) in Nova Scotia? Read on.
(Note: The data does not include electors who registered on election day itself.)
The high
Nova Scotia’s riding with the highest voter turnout was Central Nova, with 75.02 per cent, where Liberal Sean Fraser was re-elected in what appeared to be a tight race against Conservative candidate Brycen Jenkins as results came in on election night.
Preliminary numbers show Fraser had 52 per cent of the vote, while Jenkins had 42.7 per cent.
This all came after the drama of Fraser announcing late last year that he was leaving federal politics and didn’t plan to run again. After Justin Trudeau stepped down, however, Fraser had a change of heart, endorsed Mark Carney and announced to re-offer. It’s a decision that certainly paid off.
The low
Nova Scotia’s riding with the lowest turnout was Sydney-Glace Bay, with 70.08 per cent of eligible voters. Liberal candidate Mike Kelloway was re-elected for a third term—but will be representing a newly created riding.
Kelloway—who previously served as MP for Cape Breton-Canso since 2019—took more than 52 per cent of the vote in a crowded field of eight candidates vying to become the first-ever Sydney-Glace Bay representative in the House of Commons.
This article appears in Apr 1-30, 2025.
