Labrador

Labrador is a federal electoral district encompassing the entire mainland portion of Newfoundland and Labrador, making it one of the largest ridings by area in Canada. With a 2021 census population of approximately 26,000, it is also the least populous federal riding in the country. The riding's main communities are Happy Valley-Goose Bay (population 8,040), Labrador City (population 7,412), Wabush (population 1,964), and Churchill Falls, along with the Innu reserves of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish and the Inuit communities of Nunatsiavut stretching along the northern coast to Nain.

Candidates

Yvonne Jones (Liberal) is a NunatuKavummiut -- a member of the NunatuKavut Indigenous community of southern Labrador. Born in 1968, she served as mayor of Mary's Harbour from 1991 to 1996 before winning a seat in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly representing Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair in 1996. During nearly two decades in provincial politics, she served as Minister of Fisheries and later as leader of the provincial Liberal Party and Leader of the Official Opposition. Jones won the federal Labrador seat in a 2013 by-election. A graduate of West Viking College, she previously worked as a journalist for community newspapers and as a researcher at Memorial University.

Shane Dumaresque (Conservative) was born and raised in Forteau on the Strait of Belle Isle in southern Labrador. An entrepreneur, Dumaresque established multiple businesses over two decades across various regions of Labrador. During the campaign, he voiced strong support for the Innu Nation's concerns regarding their exclusion from the Muskrat Falls rate mitigation agreement.

Amy Norman (NDP) is an Inuk woman born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, with family connections to North West River and Nain in Nunatsiavut. An environmental and Indigenous rights advocate, Norman was active with the Labrador Land Protectors and had spoken at panels and events across North America on Indigenous and environmental issues.

Shannon Champion (PPC) ran as the People's Party of Canada candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Labrador spans over 290,000 square kilometres of subarctic and boreal landscape, from the Strait of Belle Isle in the south to the Torngat Mountains in the north. Six Inuit communities along the northern coast -- Nain, Hopedale, Postville, Makkovik, Rigolet, and the Inuit community government of North West River -- are accessible only by air or sea, with no road connections to the rest of the province.

Mining is the dominant industry in western Labrador. Rio Tinto's Iron Ore Company of Canada operates the Carol Lake iron mine near Labrador City, and Vale operates the Voisey's Bay nickel-copper-cobalt mine near Nain. Together, these operations contributed to Newfoundland and Labrador producing $6.2 billion worth of minerals in 2021, making the province Canada's fourth-largest mineral producer. The mining sector provides direct employment for over 8,000 workers province-wide.

The Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project on the lower Churchill River was the single most contentious issue in the riding heading into 2021. Originally budgeted at $6.2 billion, the project's costs ballooned to over $13 billion, prompting a federal commitment of $5.2 billion in July 2021 to help the province manage electricity rates. The Muskrat Falls Inquiry found that both the provincial government and Nalcor Energy had failed to meaningfully consult Indigenous peoples, creating what the commission called an environment of mistrust and suspicion. Innu and Inuit communities raised concerns about methylmercury contamination in the Churchill River reservoir and the adequacy of impact and benefits agreements.

Food security, housing shortages, and the extreme cost of living in remote communities were pressing issues throughout the riding. Health care access, with residents of isolated communities often requiring medical flights to Happy Valley-Goose Bay or St. John's, was a persistent concern.