ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Danny Williams's overwhelming popularity, combined with a spending scandal that has cast suspicion on politicians from all major parties, has sapped the electorate's interest in the Newfoundland election campaign and left observers predicting low turnout at the polls next week.
Still, the outspoken Tory leader will likely walk away with a landslide victory when the provincial election concludes Tuesday, pundits say.
"We're still in a position where the premier is more popular than the other two (leaders) by a country mile," said Stephen Tomblin, a political science professor at Memorial University in St. John's.
"Some of the cynicism and distrust associated with that scandal, which of course is really shared among the parties, hasn't gone away ... (and) people get turned off. They can't really see what's the point because (Williams) is going to win with such a large majority anyway."
Newfoundland has a history of electing majority governments.
Former Liberal premier Joey Smallwood consistently crushed the opposition in elections from 1949 until 1966. In 1982, Tory premier Brian Peckford won 44 of the legislature's 52 seats, and the polls suggest Williams is poised to reach a similar level of dominance.
There were few surprises throughout the three-week campaign. Williams's pledge to pay $1,000 for every baby born or adopted in the province, a proposal he said would help stem the prolonged decline in Newfoundland's population, was one of the more controversial policy announcements made by any leader on the hustings.
"We can't be a dying race," Williams said at the time.
The idea was perhaps the most novel in his platform. But all the attention it garnered exposed a glaring lack of public discussion on immigration, a more proven method of turning around sagging population rates, Tomblin said.
"A baby bonus appeals to almost a Newfoundland nationalist element, and that's why it would be more popular than immigration," he said. "But I'm not sure having a few extra kids is going to make much of a difference in a world which is increasingly mobile."
Tomblin also said it was "astounding" that the environment did not play a bigger role in the campaign.
"Everywhere in the country they're talking about the environment," he said. "I've hardly heard a word about the need to improve or even to create a connection between the economy and the environment."
Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton and his provincial counterpart Lorraine Michael attempted to draw attention to the issue at a campaign stop last week in Holyrood, N.L., calling for the shutdown of the town's oil-burning power plant.
The Holyrood thermal generation station is considered by environmental groups to be one of the worst polluters in Canada.
Williams has said he intends to close the station when the proposed Lower Churchill hydroelectric project begins producing clean, renewable energy, though that's not expected until 2015.
The Liberals were beset by setbacks during the campaign.
The party failed to field a full slate of candidates, the first time the Liberals weren't able to do so in 35 years.
On Thursday, Liberal Leader Gerry Reid found himself trying to explain comments he made during his first campaign visit to Labrador a day earlier.
"(Williams) said we were going to bankrupt the province. Well then, let's bankrupt it, if that's the case," Reid told party supporters in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Williams pounced on the remarks, suggesting they reflected the Liberal vision for the province. Reid insisted he was being facetious and that his remarks were taken out of context.
While most of Newfoundland's districts are considered Tory territory, Labrador is seen as one of the few regions where seats are up for grabs.
Residents there, including known Conservative supporters, have accused Williams of neglecting the region. They fear another Tory government will extract the territory's natural resources without addressing their problems.
During a visit this week to a previously Liberal-held district in Labrador, Williams teased voters with the possibility they would be electing a future cabinet minister if they voted for his rookie candidate.
Reid said the move shows how desperate Williams is to win any of the region's four seats.
Michael, for the most part, ran a low-key campaign for the NDP because of the party's lack of financial resources. It has fielded only 36 candidates.
But during the televised debate Michael came across as an effective communicator, in contrast to Reid and Williams, who often engaged in confusing verbal brawls.
At dissolution, the Tories had 34 seats, the Liberals 11 and the NDP one. There were two vacancies.
One Liberal candidate died during the campaign. The election for that district has been postponed.
