Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor

Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor sprawled across the interior and northeast coast of Newfoundland, one of the largest federal ridings in the province by area. It encompassed the inland towns of Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor along the Trans-Canada Highway, the historic Bonavista Peninsula jutting into the Atlantic, and the offshore islands of Fogo Island, Twillingate, Change Islands, and New World Island. Created in the 2003 redistribution from portions of the former Gander—Grand Falls and Bonavista—Trinity—Conception ridings, the district linked together several distinct regional economies.

Candidates

Scott Simms (Liberal) — Simms was the incumbent MP, first elected in 2004 when the riding was created. A native of the region, he studied commerce at Mount Allison University and journalism at Loyalist College before spending approximately a decade as a weather presenter on The Weather Network. He had also worked as a radio reporter in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor earlier in his career. By 2011, Simms was a well-established presence in central Newfoundland, having won three consecutive elections in the riding.

Aaron Hynes (Conservative) — Hynes was making his second run at the riding, having also stood as the Conservative candidate in 2006. He had a background as a naval officer and had studied at Carleton University. Hynes had family connections to central Newfoundland.

Clyde Bridger (NDP) — Bridger carried the NDP banner in the riding during the 2011 campaign. Limited public biographical information was available about his background heading into the election.

Robyn Kenny (Green Party) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

The riding's two largest communities served as regional service centres for central Newfoundland. Grand Falls-Windsor, with a population of roughly 13,725 in 2011, had historically been a pulp and paper town, but the closure of the Abitibi Bowater newsprint mill in February 2009 forced a painful economic transition. By 2011, the town's Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre had become its largest employer, and the community was increasingly oriented toward servicing the mining sector in the central Newfoundland interior. Gander, with a population of roughly 11,054 in 2011, grew up around Gander International Airport, built in 1938 as a refuelling stop for transatlantic flights. By 2011, the airport remained a major employer alongside NAV Canada's area control centre and aerospace maintenance operations.

The Bonavista Peninsula's economy had shifted significantly since the 1992 cod moratorium devastated the inshore fishery. The town of Bonavista, once home to roughly 6,500 residents, had seen its population cut roughly in half. A growing snow crab fishery provided some replacement income, while tourism was becoming an increasingly important economic driver, drawing visitors to the cape where John Cabot reportedly landed in 1497. Fogo Island, with a population of about 2,400 in 2011, was undergoing its own transformation following the cod collapse, with offshore oil employment and emerging tourism initiatives providing new economic possibilities. Resource extraction, including mining operations in the central interior, and the province's booming offshore oil sector provided employment for residents across the riding who commuted to work sites elsewhere.