HALIFAX — As predicted, Atlantic Canadian voters returned mostly Liberals to Ottawa. With a few exceptions, the names and faces will be the same.
Despite a Tory surge in polls, the Conservatives made only two gains in Atlantic Canada, one in Newfoundland and one in New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Island's four ridings remained Liberal.
In Nova Scotia, the Tories failed to make inroads, despite a fierce race in West Nova between Liberal incumbent Robert Thibault and Conservative candidate Greg Kerr.
Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison was reelected in Nova Scotia.
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In New Brunswick, the Tories picked up a riding in Tobique-Mactaquac.
Predicted tight battles in the urban ridings failed to materialize as Andy Scott of Fredericton and Paul Zed of Saint John hung onto their ridings.
The Tories got off to a great start in Newfoundland, taking the seat left by retired Liberal cabinet minister John Efford.
But after that the names and faces stayed pretty much the same across the Maritimes.
Political observers said the results show that the Maritime distrust of Stephen Harper was genuine. Peter McKenna of the University of Prince Edward Island said Atlantic Canada's distrust of the Conservative Party runs deep.
From the beginning of the campaign, Mr. Harper waged an uphill battle to quell the distrust.
In the past, he has said the Maritime region is mired in a "culture of defeat."
And he has spoken harshly of regional subsidies, leading some to believe he would gut the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, a regional development agency.
Liberal Leader Paul Martin played to Atlantic Canada's distrust of Mr. Harper, at one point warning that a Tory government would be run by Albertans -- to the exclusion of Maritime interests.
He warned that even deputy Tory leader Peter MacKay could be shut out.
"All of Stephen Harper's advisers come from Calgary," Mr. Martin said last week. "They come from where he is.
"Peter MacKay doesn't really count."
For his part, Mr. Harper tried to soften his image.
On a campaign stop to Halifax he apologized for the culture-of-defeat comment and he vowed to maintain the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency.
NDP Leader Jack Layton made two trips to Nova Scotia and to New Brunswick hoping to add to the three New Democratic Party seats.
Brian Crowley, head of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, a conservative think tank based in Halifax, said Mr. Harper and the Conservatives still make Atlantic Canadians uneasy.
"Their message makes a lot of them anxious," he said.
"A lot of people in Atlantic Canada have become reliant on the federal government in one form or another, whether it's money from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or unemployment insurance or whatever.
"They associate the Conservatives with skepticism about many of those government programs and they probably voted defensively."
It has been a tough sell for Mr. Harper in the area, where voters largely rejected the merged Canadian Alliance-Progressive Conservative Party in the last election.
The most recent opinion polls suggested Mr. Harper's image was mellowing with Atlantic Canadians, thanks to an effort to smooth his rough edges and present a gentler, more personable leader.
Five fast facts
1
The Conservatives decisively won John Efford's seat.
2
Despite predicted close calls, the Liberals held on in PEI.
3
Liberals won a tight race in the bellwether riding of West Nova.
4
Former minister Andy Scott staved off a Tory challenge.
5
Alexa McDonough won her fourth straight race since 1997.
