CORNER BROOK, N.L. - Voters in Newfoundland and Labrador head to the polls Monday after a campaign that saw the Liberals argue the province's 12-year-old Progressive Conservative government is due for replacement.

The Tories are a long way removed from the days when Danny Williams held command of the province's politics. The party has had three different leaders since he stepped down five years ago.

"One of the narratives that has emerged throughout this campaign is the Conservatives have governed in an arrogant way," said Russell Williams, who teaches at Memorial University.

Kelly Blidook, also a professor of political science at Memorial University, said Tory Leader Paul Davis has been able to attract public support since he was sworn in last fall, but it may not be enough to overcome the overall perception of the party's performance in recent years.

"People aren't willing to vote Tory, even though many say they haven't done a bad job. It's kind of odd," he said.

Throughout the 25-day campaign, the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP have argued the economic policies promoted by Liberal leader Dwight Ball, the perceived frontrunner, are based on fantasy figures.

While Ball has effectively reminded voters of accumulated scandals and mistakes by the Tories, Williams said in an interview.

The political observers say the critique of the Tories has been building gradually since Williams was replaced by Kathy Dunderdale when he left.

Dunderdale brought the party a third landslide victory in 2011, but her popularity fell sharply over a series of missteps, which included a bill that ushered in tighter restrictions on access to information laws.

Extended provincewide power blackouts during a frigid stretch of the 2014 winter led to high-profile defections to the Liberals and a series of byelection losses for the Progressive Conservatives.

Meanwhile, the collapse in oil prices has hammered the province's economy, forcing Davis to bring in a budget earlier this year that includes spending cuts and a ballooning deficit projected at $1.1 billion.

On Sunday morning in Corner Brook, voters agreed that the election is a referendum on the Conservative's longer term record.

"I guess everybody is ready for a change," said Greg Parsons as he watched his son skating at a local hockey rink.

However, Dave Sheppard, a local woodworker who was selling his wares at a craft fair, said Davis came across well during the campaign.

"I don't think Dwight Ball is the man for the job. He's very vague and muddy about what he talks about," he said.

Suggestions that Ball's economic policies are based on questionable financial figures were pushed by both NDP Leader Earle McCurdy and Davis in the last debate of the campaign.

In particular, they said Ball's promise not to proceed with a scheduled two percentage point increase in the harmonized sales tax will force him to cut drastically in other areas.

Davis's campaign ads have shown him in front of a government building claiming that Ball's agenda is going to "empty this parking lot and many more like it."

Ball has countered that as a businessman, he understands how the sales tax increase would keep people from spending money.

"It stunts growth," he fired back in the debate. "It takes money out of the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

McCurdy said Sunday that Ball's economic figures predicting significant rises in provincial revenues based on economic growth aren't a realistic way to cope with the deficit.

"His platform dealing with economic diversification reads like a letter to Santa. Maybe that's why they call it the red book," he said in an interview.

The number of seats in the legislature drops from 48 to 40 in this election after redistribution.

At dissolution, the Tories had 28 seats, the Liberals 16, and the New Democrats three. One seat was vacant.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2015