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ST. JOHN’S — Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier-designate says one of the key factors behind his party’s election victory this week was how they responded to the frustration felt by rural voters.
Tony Wakeham, whose Progressive Conservatives won a slim majority government on Tuesday, said in an interview Thursday that the province’s rural residents made it clear they feel like they are being ignored by the governing Liberals.
“Many communities have seen their RCMP detachments close, (and) they have seen health-care services eroded,” the Tory leader said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “So there’s a feeling that they’re being left behind.”
Wakeham says rural voters were feeling a sense of urgency about improving access to health care, paying less taxes and combating crime — issues he says were championed by the Tories.
“And so it was important for me to re-establish that I believe in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and I’m not gonna tear it down, I’m gonna build it up,” he said.
The Tories’ election win followed electoral gains made in the province by the federal Conservatives, who in the spring won three rural ridings — a gain of two seats — despite the federal Liberals’ election win under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
As for the province’s health-care file, Wakeham said spending more money wasn’t necessarily the solution to fixing accessibility problems.
“I don’t think it’s about going deeper into debt,” he said. “Part of that solution is … is actually sitting down with the people that work directly in the system and listening to their solutions.”
Some solutions should involve saving money, he said, adding that the government funds spent on travel nurses was “not exactly a great use of public money.”
In June, an audit of Newfoundland and Labrador’s contracts with private travel nurse agencies flagged overpayments by the provincial health authority, questionable invoices and possible fraud.
The report found the government spent nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on agency nurses from 2022 to 2024. The report said the health authority was eventually paying more than $400,000 a year for each travel nurse, which is more than triple the salary of nurses working for the province.
On another front, Wakeham said he wasn’t worried about the possibility that the separatist Parti Québécois will win the next election in Quebec and demand new terms on a tentative, multi-billion dollar energy deal between Hydro-Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.
A provincial election in Quebec is scheduled for October of next year. And the deadline to ratify the energy deal is in April.
“The bigger risk for me is making sure that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador do not find themselves signing on to 50-year-plus deals … that are not in the best interest or don’t maximize the benefits for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” he said, repeating well-worn messages from the campaign.
The former health-care bureaucrat said he is focusing instead on ensuring the draft agreement is improved through a review conducted by an independent third party and then subjected to a provincewide referendum, as promised during the campaign.
As well, he said there’s no need for arbitrary deadlines for a deal that is so important to both provinces.
“We have an opportunity here, and it’s not just about the next four years. It’s about the next four decades. And so I want to make sure that we get this right and take our time to do it.”
Wakeham’s plans for a review and referendum, however, have raised doubts about the future of the deal.
Earlier this year, the CEO of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Jennifer Williams, warned that a delay in negotiations could send a negative message about doing business in the province.
On Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault said he’s committed to working with Newfoundland and Labrador’s new leadership. The agreement benefits both sides, he said in a social media post. “Please be assured of our full commitment to continue our collaboration,” Legault wrote.
When the two men spoke on Thursday, Legault’s office described the chat as “courtesy call” that included the Quebec premier congratulating his counterpart on his election victory.
As it stands, the deal would significantly raise the rate Hydro-Québec pays for electricity from the Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant in central Labrador, and terminate the existing contract 16 years earlier than expected.
During the Newfoundland and Labrador election campaign, Liberal Premier John Hogan said the deal would inject $225 billion into the province’s coffers over the next 50 years. And with the province’s net debt expected to hit $19.7 billion next year, Hogan said the money could help balance the province’s books.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.
— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax; with files from Sarah Smellie in St. John’s.
The Canadian Press
