
There's a slate of new faces on the federal ballot for this newly named riding: Cape Spear
CBC
Formerly known as St. John's South-Mount Pearl and represented by outgoing Liberal MP Seamus O'Regan, the newly renamed riding of Cape Spear is home to some 80,000 residents.
Those constituents will have five candidates to choose from come election day — none of whom has held federal office.
The winner will represent a riding that stretches from North America's most eastern tip to Paradise in the west.
CBC News is profiling each of Newfoundland and Labrador's seven ridings in advance of election day on April 28.
These are the candidates jockeying for the seat in Cape Spear:
Tom Osborne is a familiar face provincially, having served in some capacity at Confederation Building for nearly three decades — as a member of the Progressive Conservative party and Liberal party — but this election marks his first run for a job in Ottawa.
The longtime provincial politician has been the province's health, education and finance minister in the past several years, announced his retirement from politics last July — a short-lived endeavour — before he was acclaimed as the federal Liberal candidate for Cape Spear.
"I think, you know, I've got a proven track record. People in the area trust me, they know my work ethic," Osborne said.
Osborne says he's always used a "steady hand at the wheel" approach when dealing with crises.
"This is the most important election for decades," he said, pointing to ongoing threats to Canada's sovereignty and a rapidly shifting trade relationship with the U.S.
Osborne says he and his constituents are both focused intently on the cost of living. Removing the carbon tax, he says, was the first step to reducing the cost of bringing goods to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney's recent promise to halve Marine Atlantic ferry fees will also help ease the burden, Osborne says, as will Liberal promises to build 500,000 homes and remove the sales tax for first-time buyers.
Osborne echoes other Liberal candidates on energy, saying he'd take a balanced approach between investing in green initiatives like heat pumps and renewables while continuing to support offshore fossil fuel production.