1978 Nova Scotia general election explained

Election Name:	1978 Nova Scotia general election
Country:	Nova Scotia
Type:	parliamentary
Party Colour:	no
Party Name:	no
Previous Election:	1974 Nova Scotia general election
Previous Year:	1974
Previous Mps:	51st General Assembly of Nova Scotia
Election Date:	September 19, 1978
Elected Mps:	members
Next Election:	1981 Nova Scotia general election
Next Year:	1981
Next Mps:	53rd General Assembly of Nova Scotia
Majority Seats:	27
Turnout:	78.23% 0.34pp
Image1:	PC
Leader1:	John Buchanan
Leader Since1:	March 6, 1971
Leaders Seat1:	Halifax Atlantic
Last Election1:	12
Seats1:	31
Seat Change1:	19
Popular Vote1:	203,500
Percentage1:	45.48%
Swing1:	7.17pp
Leader2:	Gerald Regan
Leader Since2:	July 24, 1965
Last Election2:	31
Seats2:	17
Seat Change2:	14
Popular Vote2:	175,218
Percentage2:	39.16%
Swing2:	8.41pp
Image3:	NDP
Leader3:	Jeremy Akerman
Leader Since3:	November 9, 1968
Leaders Seat3:	Cape Breton East
Last Election3:	3
Seats3:	4
Seat Change3:	1
Popular Vote3:	63,979
Percentage3:	14.30%
Swing3:	1.43pp
Premier
Posttitle:	Premier after election
Before Election:	Gerald Regan
After Election:	John Buchanan

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

Party!rowspan="2"

Party leader	of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
1974	of candidates	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	align="right"	-14	175,218	39.16%	align="right"	-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%	align="right"	-0.06%
	Vacant				1
Total valid votes								444,705	99.39%	+0.13%
Blank and invalid ballots								2,739	0.61%	align="right"	-0.13%
Total			162	46	46	52	+6	447,444	100.00%	–
Registered voters / turnout								542,547	78.23%^[1]	+0.34%

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								Progressive Conservative	Popular vote:	0.49%	–	–	1.68%	0.14%	0.46%	0.45%									Liberal																	New Democratic Party
Total seats:	14	11	8	7	7	5	52

Retiring incumbents

Liberal

Progressive Conservative

John Wickwire, Queens

Nominated candidates

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

Valley

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

South Shore

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Lunenburg East||Wally MacDonald
1,417
28.01%|||Ron Barkhouse
3,386
66.93%||Robert Whiting Sr.
256
5.06%|||||Ron Barkhouse|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Lunenburg West||Maurice DeLory
2,791
36.54%|||Mel Pickings
3,907
51.15%||G.M. Dean
941
12.32%|||||Maurice DeLory|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Queens||Keith Wyer
2,440
33.85%|||John Leefe
3,800
52.72%||A.J. d'Entremont
968
13.43%|||||John Wickwire†|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Shelburne|||Harold Huskilson
3,932
45.06%||A. Etheren Goreham
3,682
42.20%||Jane A. Strange
1,112
12.74%|||||Harold Huskilson |-|rowspan=2 bgcolor=whitesmoke|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

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Colchester North||Floyd Tucker
3,023
43.30%|||Bill Campbell
3,447
49.37% ||Peter Robben
512
7.33%|||||Floyd Tucker

Colchester|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Colchester South||Ed Lorraine
2,187
38.11%|||R. Colin Stewart
3,230
56.28%||Chester Rice
322
5.61%|||||Melinda MacLean†
Colchester|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cumberland Centre|||Guy Brown
2,515
53.75%||Russell Fisher
1,354
28.94%||Dennis R. Calder
810
17.31%|||||Guy Brown|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Hants East||Jack Hawkins
3,294
42.15%|||G. Patrick Hunt
4,035
51.63%||Clair White
486
6.22%|||||Jack Hawkins|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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

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

Suburban Halifax

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bedford-Musquodoboit Valley||Jim MacLean
2,743
32.65%|||Ken Streatch
4,951
58.93%||Gerald B. Hoganson
708
8.43%|||||New riding|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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† |-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cole Harbour||Peter Sawler
2,782
35.59%|||David Nantes
4,278
54.73%||Daniel laFitte
757
9.68%|||||New riding|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Dartmouth East||Barbara Hart
3,488
36.27%|||Richard L. Weldon
5,098
53.02%||Gabriel Des Rochers
1,030
10.71%|||||New riding|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Dartmouth North||Glen M. Bagnell
2,927
33.94%|||Laird Stirling
4,561
52.89%||Nick Rolls
1,135
13.16%|||||Glen M. Bagnell|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Dartmouth South||Norman Crawford
2,365
25.38%|||Roland J. Thornhill
5,530
59.35%||Mike Marshall
1,423
15.27%|||||Roland J. Thornhill |-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Antigonish |||Bill Gillis
4,689
49.82%||Bill McNeil
3,713
39.45%||John Arthur Murphy
1,010
10.73%|||||Bill Gillis |-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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 |-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Pictou East||W.G. Bill Munro
2,364
32.30%|||Donald Cameron
4,315
58.96%||Bill Mitton
639
8.73%|||||Donald Cameron|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|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

|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton Centre||Francis MacLean
2,993
36.96%||Peter MacKinnon
1,510
18.65%|||Buddy MacEachern
3,594
44.39%|||||Buddy MacEachern|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton East||Vincent Kachafanas
3,109
27.21%||Frank Edwards
3,182
27.85%|||Jeremy Akerman
5,135
44.94%|||||Jeremy Akerman|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton North||Barry LeBlanc
2,782
28.17%||Tom MacKeough
3,215
32.56%|||Len J. Arsenault
3,878
39.27%|||||Tom MacKeough|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton Nova||Earle Tubrett
2,867
34.60%||Percy Gaum
1,502
18.12%|||Paul MacEwan
3,918
47.28%|||||Paul MacEwan|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton South|||Vince MacLean
7,041
59.84%||Donald C. MacNeil
2,761
23.46%||Sandy MacNeil
1,965
16.70%|||||Vince MacLean |-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton—The Lakes|||Ossie Fraser
3,473
46.26%||Jim MacDonald
2,642
35.19%||Irene LeBlanc
1,393
18.55%|||||New riding|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton West|||David Muise
3,664
36.80%||"Big" Donnie MacLeod
3,081
30.95%||Frank Boone
3,211
32.25%|||||Ossie Fraser|-|rowspan=2 bgcolor=whitesmoke|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|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Richmond|||Gaston LeBlanc
3,287
49.39%||Eva Landry
2,446
36.75%||Bruce Wright
922
13.85%|||||Gaston LeBlanc|-|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Victoria|||Peter John Nicholson
2,199
48.29%||Catherine MacNeil Jankowski
1,992
43.74%||Steve Lake
363
7.97%|||||Vacant|}

Notes and References

While 447,444 votes were cast, only 424,418 electors voted as Inverness and Yarmouth electors voted for two candidates.