Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Though on rock-solid ground, Tories face fearsome odds for majority

If an election is called this spring, Stephen Harper will enter the campaign as front runner. His party’s coffers are flush with cash, he has a five-to-seven point lead over his chief rival and is opposed by a Liberal Party that has so far proven unable to capitalize on what should have been a difficult eight months for the Prime Minister. But his much coveted majority government remains beyond easy reach.

You can read the rest of the article on The Globe and Mail website.

Before getting to the list of Conservative ridings, here is a little graphic presentation of the five party analyses I've done. Each different shade of the party colours represents one of the classifications of seats, as noted on the graph.When we look at how many ridings in which the two main parties are at play, we see where the battle lines will be drawn. In British Columbia, the Conservatives are in it in 35 ridings, compared to 12 for the Liberals. In Ontario, the Tories are in play in 88 ridings, compared to 73 for the Liberals. And in Quebec, the Liberals are in play in 34 ridings, compared to 31 for the Tories. The Bloc, of course, is at play in 64.

Here is the list of the Conservative ridings, ranked from most to least for each category.

FORTRESS RIDINGS (79)

Crowfoot
Vegreville - Wainwright
Macleod
Wetaskiwin
Yellowhead
Wild Rose
Red Deer
Calgary Southeast
Souris - Moose Mountain
Medicine Hat
Calgary Southwest
Westlock - St. Paul
Peace River
Yorkton - Melville
Portage - Lisgar
Lethbridge
Prince George - Peace River
Edmonton - Spruce Grove
Fort McMurray - Athabasca
Calgary - Nose Hill
Calgary East
Chilliwack - Fraser Canyon
Beauce
Provencher
Langley
Cypress Hills - Grasslands
New Brunswick Southwest
Leeds - Grenville
Renfrew - Nipissing - Pembroke
Abbotsford
Kootenay - Columbia
Tobique - Mactaquac
Okanahan - Coquihalla
Selkirk - Interlake
Stormont - Dundas - South Glengarry
Fundy Royal
York - Simcoe
Edmonton - St. Albert
Battlefords - Lloydminster
Edmonton - Leduc
Calgary Centre-North
Haliburton - Kawartha Lakes - Brock
Carleton - Mississippi Mills
Wellington - Halton Hills
Saskatoon - Wanuskewin
Okanagan - Shuswap
Kelowna - Lake Country
Lanark - Frontenac - Lennox and Addington
Dufferin - Caledon
Dauphin - Swan River - Marquette
Oxford
Brandon - Souris
Port Moody - Westwood - Port Coquitlam
Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont
Nepean - Carleton
Cariboo - Prince George
Prince Albert
Blackstrap
Durham
Sarnia - Lambton
South Surrey - White Rock - Cloverdale
Saskatoon - Humboldt
Calgary Centre
Barrie
Niagara West - Glanbrook
Delta - Richmond East
Lambton - Kent - Middlesex
Calgary West
Regina - Lumsden - Lake Centre
Whitby - Oshawa
Parry Sound - Muskoka
Cambridge
Elgin - Middlesex - London
Charleswood - St. James - Assiniboia
Kitchener - Conestoga
Perth - Wellington
Prince Edward - Hastings
Calgary Northeast
Lotbinière - Chutes-de-la-Chaudière

SECURE RIDINGS (50)

Cumberland - Colchester - Musquodoboit Valley
Kildonan - St. Paul
Burlington
Regina - Qu'Appelle
Bruce - Grey - Owen Sound
Simcoe North
Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge - Mission
Edmonton East
Northumberland - Quinte West
Central Nova
Niagara Falls
Ancaster - Dundas - Flamborough - Westdale
Louis-Saint-Laurent
Chatham-Kent - Essex
Lévis - Bellechasse
Nanaimo - Alberni
Mégantic - L'Érable
St. Catharines
South Shore - St. Margaret's
Peterborough
Fredericton
Kamloops - Thompson - Cariboo
Jonquière - Alma
Palliser
Oshawa
Edmonton Centre
Newmarket - Aurora
Richmond
Fleetwood - Port Kells
Huron - Bruce
West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky
Halton
Essex
Glengarry - Prescott - Russell
Charlesbourg - Haute-Saint-Charles
Oakville
Thornhill
Nunavut
Miramichi
Ottawa West - Nepean
Brant
Kenora
Pontiac
Haldimand - Norfolk
Desnethé - Missinippi - Churchill River
West Nova
Vancouver Island North
Edmonton - Sherwood Park
Ottawa - Orléans
Winnipeg South

VULNERABLE RIDINGS (16)

Saanich - Gulf Islands
North Vancouver
Kitchener - Waterloo
Oak Ridges - Markham
Mississauga - Erindale
Kitchener Centre
Roberval - Lac-Saint-Jean
Beauport - Limoilou
Saint Boniface
London West
Saskatoon - Rosetown - Biggar
Egmont
Saint John
Vaughan
Surrey North
Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup

TARGETED RIDINGS (13)

Welland
Sault Ste. Marie
Burnaby - Douglas
Edmonton - Strathcona
Moncton - Riverview - Dieppe
Western Arctic
Brampton West
Brampton - Springdale
Kingston and the Islands
Vancouver South
Esquimalt - Juan de Fuca
Lac-Saint-Louis
Simcoe - Grey

POTENTIAL RIDINGS (73)

Malpeque
Elmwood - Transcona
Guelph
Sudbury
Thunder Bay - Superior North
Nanaimo - Cowichan
Mississauga South
Vancouver Kingsway
Eglinton - Lawrence
Don Valley West
York Centre
London North Centre
Avalon
London - Fanshawe
Ajax - Pickering
Halifax
Hamilton Mountain
Bramalea - Gore - Malton
Chicoutimi - Le Fjord
British Columbia Southern Interior
Yukon
Louis-Hébert
Mississauga - Streetsville
Ottawa Centre
New Westminster - Coquitlam
Skeena - Bulkley Valley
Madawaska - Restigouche
Thunder Bay - Rainy River
Abitibi - Baie-James - Nunavik - Eeyou
Etobicoke Centre
Richmond Hill
Etobicoke - Lakeshore
Hamilton East - Stoney Creek
Newton - North Delta
Nipissing - Timiskaming
Scarborough Southwest
Burnaby - New Westminster
Dartmouth - Cole Harbour
Beauséjour
Victoria
Charlottetown
Kings - Hants
Winnipeg South Centre
Gatineau
Mississauga - Brampton South
Drummond
Vancouver Quadra
Brossard - La Prairie
Vancouver Centre
Willowdale
Ottawa South
Halifax West
Don Valley East
Pickering - Scarborough East
Laval - Les Iles
Mississauga East - Cooksville
Québec
Brome - Missisquoi
Etobicoke North
Scarborough Centre
Pierrefonds - Dollard
Richmond - Arthabaska
Ottawa - Vanier
Gaspésie - Iles-de-la-Madeleine
Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Wascana
Scarborough - Guildwood
Haute-Gaspésie - La Mitis - Matane - Matapédia
Laval
Saint-Maurice - Champlain
Trois-Rivières
Montmorency - Charlevoix - Haute-Côte-Nord
Saint-Lambert