Registered voters who don't want to wait until April 28 have until Monday to cast an early ballot at their assigned polling station.

Social Sharing

While Good Friday meant a feed of fish and chips for some Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, for others it was their first opportunity to cast a ballot in this year's federal election.

Carl Aylward was among the first voters at his polling station on Friday morning. He says there's a lot of issues in the country that compelled him to get out and have his voice heard.

"Our healthcare seems like it's going downhill, the inflation and the cost of living is going up every day," he said. "So, this is why I decided to come out early and have the vote."

The U.S. president also weighed heavily on Aylward's mind.

"The way that Trump is getting on, carrying on with his foolishness and all this garbage about 'Canada come join the 51st state' and all this, that's why I wanted to get out, we're not for sale," said Aylward.

Other early voters also said tensions with the U.S. are influencing their choices in this election.

"The relationship with the United States at the moment is just pretty terrifying," said Don Beaubier. "The whole concept of Canada is kind of in question at this moment."

"It's hard to trust America now," said Elias Bartellas, another early voter.

He also had a message for whoever becomes the next Prime Minister.

"Good luck," Bartellas said. "It's gonna be a tough job."

Meanwhile, Karen Linfield is Election Canada's returning officer for the St. John's East riding. She said turnout so far has been great, with multiple people voting for the first time in their lives.

"I had one gentleman come in with his mother, she was 96, and he told me it was his first time voting and she was very adamant that she vote," Linfield said. "We had a person come in on her 18th birthday and vote... I had a gentleman who was a retired military. He said 'I defended my country all my life, this is the first time that I am voting.'"

WATCH | The CBC's Peter Cowan reports from Ches's Fish and Chips:

While reporting from Ches’s Fish and Chips in St. John’s on their busiest day of the year, the CBC’s Peter Cowan finds out what early voters are thinking about as advance polling begins.

Linfield says there's a different energy to voters this year.

"It's gotten to the point where you can just see the intent in people's faces. We don't know who they vote for. That's their decision. But what we know is that they are not going to miss their opportunity to vote this time."

Registered voters have until Monday to cast an early ballot at their assigned polling station between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

You can also vote by mail or in person by special ballot at your nearest Elections Canada office until 6 p.m. on April 22.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.

With files from Peter Cowan

8 days ago

Duration 3:42

Candidate lists are now locked in, so let’s see who’s running and where in the federal election. We’ve mapped out the major candidates in all seven ridings across Newfoundland and Labrador. And with only two incumbents in the mix, voters in this province will see lots of new faces.

Social Sharing

The federal election is less than two weeks away, but advance polling is open for those who don't want to wait to vote.

Here's what you need to know to cast your ballot in Newfoundland and Labrador for the 2025 federal election.

When and how to vote

There are a number of ways to cast your ballot.

Advance polling begins on Friday and runs until Monday at assigned polling stations. You can find advance polling locations on your voter information card or the Elections Canada website.

You can also vote on election day itself — Monday, April 28 — at your assigned polling station. Polls will be open from 9:30 a.m. NT to 9:30 p.m. NT.

To vote by mail, you have to apply by Tuesday at 6 p.m. NT, and return the special ballot by mail or in person at an Elections Canada office before polls close on April 28.

Special ballot voting is open at acute care facilities starting on Sunday and running until Tuesday.

In order to vote in person you must confirm your identity. Elections Canada lists three ways to prove your identity and address.

One method is to show a piece of identification, like a driver's licence or a card issued by the Canadian government with your photo, name and current address.

You can also show two pieces of identification that both have your name, and at least one must have your current address, like a utility bill.

If you don't have identification on you, you can declare your identity and address in writing, and will need someone assigned to the polling station you know who can vouch on your behalf.

Below is a list of who is running in Newfoundland and Labrador.

St. John's East

Avalon

Cape Spear

Central Newfoundland

Labrador

Long Range Mountains

Terra Nova-The Peninsulas

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.

A proposed 10-storey apartment building in St. John's has one resident worried that the city isn't following its own rules.

KMK Capital wants to build a 107-unit apartment building at 34 New Cove Road, the site of the former MAX recreation facility.

Mary Fearon says she had "mixed feelings" when she heard city council voted to exempt the project from the step-back requirement, which is meant to mitigate the impact of wind, shadow and height.

"Those rules and regulations and policies and procedures are in place to ensure that we're meeting the needs of who [the] city works for, which are the community members, and the city as a whole, right? Not just developers," she told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.

Fearon feels the city didn't follow its own municipal plan to make sure new builds are appropriate to the neighbourhood.

She wants KMK to reduce its proposal's height and is worried about additional traffic in the area.

"There's lots of available spaces in St. John's right now where housing could be built," said Fearon.

CBC News has asked KMK for comment.

Building has changed

But Mayor Danny Breen says the city has a "robust" engagement process over proposals, and council considers those arguments and other information when it makes decisions.

"In this case, this is a project that I've concluded that's in a very good location for an apartment building," said Breen.

He pointed to its proximity walking trails and amenities like grocery stores and public transit, as well as its impacts to traffic.

Breen said the city looked at the impact of the set-back and determined there will be a shadow in the evening that will go over the law office across the street and to the cemetery.

"That was the biggest impact from not having a set-back. So council decided not to require the set-back," he said.

He added the city can waive requirements if there is a solid reason given, which, he said, isn't done lightly.

If council had determined a set-back was required, Breen said it would have resulted in KMK eliminating several apartment units.

"That would have changed the economics of the building," he said, adding that could mean the remaining units are more expensive to rent.

"One thing that I think people should realize is that the economics of building these buildings is changing. It's getting very, very expensive and there is going to be a need to have higher buildings."

Breen said there are about 2,000 housing units currently in various stages of the city's application process.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.

For Muslims in Newfoundland and Labrador, Sunday represented both the end of Ramadan and a new beginning for the community.

When the community met for morning prayers in honour of Eid al-Fitr, they gathered in a new mosque located in the former Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church on Torbay Road in St. John's.

With around 6,000 in attendance for a pair of prayer sessions, Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador President Haseen Khan says the event is a big day for his community for several reasons.

"People are very happy, people are excited, people have sense of ownership, they have sense of joy that now they have a place where they can all pray as one group, as one community," said Khan.

After buying the church in December, the Association worked hard to renovate in time to have it open for Eid, one of the holiest times in the Muslim calendar.

"This is a big celebration for Muslims. This marks the completion of one month of fasting, one month of training. Training for God consciousness, training for self-discipline, self-restraint, caring and sharing and it is one of the five pillars of Islam," Khan said.

WATCH | St. John's Eid prayers held in new MANAL Mosque:

15 hours ago

Duration 1:56

Sunday marked the beginning of the first day of Eid al-Fitr for billions of Muslims around the world, but the holiday was extra special for Muslims in the St. John's area this year. It also was the official opening of a new mosque in the former Mary Queen of Peace church.

"We are celebrating Eid, but we are also celebrating praying of Eid for the first time in this new mosque," he said. "It's a very special day for Muslims in Newfoundland and Labrador. They are able to pray under one roof as one community. So it is exciting, it is reassuring and it is pleasing."

Khan said such a big crowd shows off the range of diversity within the Muslim community.

"At the same time it shows the unity of the faith," he said. "Spiritually we are all united, but we have our own cultural diversity, our own values. But again, we all believe in one God and we all believe in one kind of ritual, which is the fasting of one month and then celebrating the completion of that fasting through this prayer."

Others in attendance loved the way the new mosque united the community.

"It's really beautiful to see all these different people from all different walks of life coming to one place to worship God and practice their faith, and it just shows the acceptance and the love that we have here in Newfoundland," said Hady Ghoneim, one of the people present for the morning prayer.

"You feel safe, you feel the love … you feel really welcomed. The love and acceptance we have in this community is very awesome to see."

Ghoneim said it's nice that the former church still serves a similar purpose.

"It's still being used to worship God," Ghoneim said. "We're all the same. We're all one, just from one side to the other. I'm glad to see it."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.

ST. JOHN’S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government is delaying its plan to balance the books for another year, with a new budget forecasting a $372-million deficit as the province navigates uncertainty from decisions made south of the border.

With U.S. President Donald Trump threatening and, in some cases, implementing tariffs on Canadian goods, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said Wednesday it was not the right time for the province to tighten its fist on spending.

“We’re in a period of global instability. There are a lot of uncertainties,” Coady told reporters. “Now is not the time to make the dramatic changes to ensure that we’re back to balance.”

The deficit in Coady’s $11-billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year is $120 million higher than last year. The province will borrow $4.1 billion to pay its bills, and its net debt will hit $19.4 billion. Ten per cent of spending is dedicated to paying down debt.

Coady defended the deficit and the borrowing, noting that the forecasted shortfall represents about three per cent of revenues for the year. Some of the billions of dollars in borrowing will pay for infrastructure, including a new mental health hospital opening next week in the capital of St. John’s, the Liberal minister said.

The province is setting aside a $200-million contingency fund to offset any fallout from U.S. tariffs, which Trump has imposed on a number of Canadian goods, including steel, aluminum and autos, and threatened on others. The reserve fund is not part of the forecasted deficit; the government could fall further into the red if any of that money is used, officials said.

The largest line item in Coady’s budget was $4.4 billion for health care, which accounts for about 40 per cent of total spending.

Newfoundland and Labrador is home to about 545,000 people, many of whom live in small communities spread out across a vast area. It has long struggled to recruit and retain doctors and nurses and provide health-care to its population.

Coady’s budget, titled “Smarter. Stronger. Better,” promises an end to deficits by the next fiscal year as long as revenues increase and spending decreases slightly.

Balancing the budget has been a moving target for Coady. In 2021, her department had aimed to be out of the red by the 2026-27 fiscal year. In 2023, she revised that goal, saying the books would be balanced in the fiscal year that ended on March 31.

The budget forecasts that real GDP growth, adjusted for inflation, will be 4.4 per cent in 2025 and fall to 1.6 per cent in 2026. The province’s GDP grew by 6.7 per cent in 2024.

The province expects GDP to rise to 3.5 per cent in 2027, driven by expected income from energy projects that haven’t yet been built. Those include Equinor’s Bay du Nord offshore oil development, for which the company has not yet made an investment decision, officials said. Income from a sweeping new energy deal that would see Quebec pay much more for power from Labrador is also included, beginning with more than $700 million in the next fiscal year.

Royalties from the four oilfields off the coast of St. John’s will account for about 15 per cent of the province’s income this fiscal year, the budget said.

It also allocates $90 million over three years to support more oil exploration.

Energy Minister Andrew Parsons said the leaders of the federal Liberal and Conservative parties seem to support an end to what he described as a “chilling effect” on oil and gas development.

“I’m excited by the conversations going on,” he told reporters.

Parsons has been part of an effort to foster a green hydrogen industry, and there are five wind-powered hydrogen projects in various stages of the government approval process. One, in western Newfoundland, has already cleared its environmental assessments.

The sector has faced delays, Parsons acknowledged, but he suggested one company has found a buyer for its hydrogen.

Opposition Leader Tony Wakeham said he would have liked for the budget to include details on how the government will recruit health workers. Roughly 30 per cent of the population does not have a family doctor and the provincial health authority is trying to wean itself off costly private agency nurses.

“I’m not seeing concrete measures in the budget to address that,” the Progressive Conservative party leader said in an interview. “If you have no plan and are simply reacting, then you actually wind up spending a lot more money.”

Jim Dinn, leader of the NDP, said the budget didn’t do enough to help those struggling with the cost of living. “It misses the reality of many people in this province,” Dinn told reporters.

Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest rate of food insecurity among the provinces in 2022, according to University of Toronto research group Proof.

Wednesday’s budget is the last under outgoing Liberal Premier Andrew Furey. He came to power in 2020 and won an election the following year, vowing to pull the province out of debt and right its financial course. His government has managed to shrink the deficit from roughly $1.6 billion in the 2020-21 fiscal year. The net debt, however, has shown stubborn growth.

Nonetheless, Coady pointed to a series of economic milestones the province hit recently, including the highest GDP in the province’s history, as well as record employment and household income rates.

“I think we’re in good shape,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press