During the last government, Atlantic cabinet ministers David Dingwall and Doug Young represented the tough image of the Liberal cabinet.
As transport minister, Young sold CN Rail and pronounced the death of the Crow Benefit subsidy. As human resources minister, he cut unemployment insurance. As defence minister, he cut short the Somalia inquiry.
Health minister Dingwall acted as the take-no-prisoners Nova Scotia political boss, oversaw cuts in health spending and stoutly defended the pest management regulatory agency against farmer complaints of costs and bureaucracy.
Monday night, voters in their respective New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ridings sent them back to the private sector.
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Both were defeated in the NDP uprising in Atlantic Canada.
Young and Dingwall were the two highest profile casualties election night. There were many others.
In Manitoba, junior minister Jon Gerrard, responsible for the western diversification office, was defeated narrowly.
For the Progressive Conservatives, retired general and world-renowned peacekeeper Lewis Mackenzie failed to capture his Ontario seat.
In Saskatchewan, Reform agriculture spokesperson Elwin Hermanson was defeated despite a province-wide Reform party surge.
Harper takes loss
In the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill, Liberal Elijah Harper was defeated by New Democrat Beverly Desjarlais. He was a target for the NDP, since Harper sat as a New Democrat MLA in Manitoba before bolting to the Liberals to win a traditional NDP seat in 1993.
In Dauphin-Swan River, former farm leader and Liberal MP Marlene Cowling lost to Dauphin mayor and Reform candidate Inky Mark.
There were also high-profile winners.
NDP leader Alexa McDonough won the first-ever Halifax seat for the party.
In a Toronto-area riding, renegade Liberal MP John Nunziata won to become the only Independent MP in the 36th parliament.
He was kicked out of the Liberal caucus because he voted against a budget that retained the GST.
Liberal winners on the Prairies were agriculture minister Ralph Goodale in Saskatchewan and natural resources minister Anne McLellan in Alberta.
Both ministers survived the Reform wave, although both also showed they had very short coat-tails.
In Edmonton, former rural Reform MP Deborah Grey won her gamble of moving to the urban riding of Edmonton North. The deputy Reform leader won the riding handily from the Liberals.
In rural Manitoba, Reform incumbent Jake Hoeppner defeated Conservative and former provincial cabinet minister Brian Pallister.
