Stormy weather could prove to be a tough test for candidates on the campaign trail

Ready, set, snow!

Politicians and political hopefuls are off and running, splitting up into their respective districts, knocking on doors and meeting constituents on their turfin hopes of landing inthe House of Assembly come February.

Party leaders are getting their kilometres in, making their way throughout the province to reach as many voters as they can ahead of election day, Feb. 13.

This is CBC N.L.'s Election Notebook, a collection of noteworthy news from thecampaign trail that will befeatured regularly until the election. Voters will choosewho will oversee the province through the COVID-19 pandemicand some of the worst financial circumstancesin provincial history.

• Complete coverage:Read allNewfoundland and Labrador Votes stories

Shovel weather

Eastern Newfoundland'sfirst big snowfall of the seasonis on its way,expected to touch down Thursday. Parts of the island are bracing for 20 to 30 centimetres, possiblymore along the Avalon Peninsula's easternmost points, includingthe St. John's area.

The Avalon and Bonavista peninsulasare bothunderwinter storm warnings, and gusts could reach up to 100 km/h.

The storm could play a significant role for candidates who have boots on the ground, as some could lose a precious day or two of face-to-face time with their prospective constituents.

Elections NL issued a media release Wednesday morningencouraging potential candidates to file their nomination papers as soon as possible, noting the blizzard conditions forecast for the Avalon Peninsula for Thursday and Friday, followed by a smaller weather system Saturday.

"This has the potential to cause travel delays, district office closures or delayed openings," reads the release, whichalso notes Saturday's nomination deadline is fixed in legislation and can't be changed.

"If candidates do not file their papers by 2p.m. on Saturday with their district returning officer, they will not be nominated and their names will not appear on the election ballot."

A blizzard is already sweeping over Labrador's north coast with the entire regionunder a blizzard warning Wednesday.

Gender lines

As it stands, the Progressive Conservatives have a full slate of candidates ready to roll for the general election. The Liberals are one behind with 39 candidates vying for seats in the legislature. The NDPnow has 28candidates, while the NL Alliance has six.

For the PCs, nineof their 40 candidates are women. The Liberals have nominated 14, the NDP has 17, and theNL Alliance has one.

Deatra Walsh, a sociologist whose focus is gender in labour research, told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Showthe numbers are "thrilling," based on conversations she's seeing online.

"Gender parity is always a goal we should be striving toward at all levels of government always. But not only gender parity;we have to strive toward greater representation across the diversity of the people of our communities as they really are," Walsh said.

"For me, what's striking about what's unfolding here now, it's not about quantity. It's about quality of these candidates that are running, these women and what they're doing."

Listen to the full interview:

Walsh said having more woman at the political table is criticalto turn around Newfoundland and Labrador's bleakfuture

NDP lose one, but add 4more

The NDP lost a candidate in Corner Brookdue to hislack offaith in party leader Alison Coffin and what he says is her lack of support for aPET scanner for the new hospital in the district.

Graham Downey-Sutton released a scathing video Tuesday evening outlining his concerns with Coffin and campaign director Mat Whynott.

"Her lack of an answer or coming out on the hospital and PET scanner was a deal-breaker for me, and I wasn't gonna put my name on the line for her when she couldn't put her name on the line for the people of Corner Brook and surrounding areas," he said.

Coffintold CBC News she was surprised by Downey-Sutton's decision.

"I think you're hearing from one unhappy individual," she said.

"Certainly, we are supporting all our candidates. We do have a lovely slate of candidates and we do have a great deal of support for all of those candidates."

The party added fourmore candidates on WednesdayinMount Pearl-Southlands,Conception Bay South,Placentia-St. Mary's and Torngat Mountains.

Want to vote early? Gethopping

Given the pandemic, you should get moving ifyou want to use a special ballot.

The deadline for applying for a mail-in ballot is Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.

You can also still apply for a special ballot that you can drop off at an Elections Newfoundland site.The deadline to apply for a special ballot is Saturday at 6 p.m. NT.

The deadline for Elections NL's district offices to receive a special ballot is Sundayat 4 p.m. You have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. to deliver a special ballot to Elections NL's headquarters.

Find out more here.

Follow the leaders

Here's where the major party leaders are expecting to be on Thursday, shovels notwithstanding:

NDP Leader Alison Coffin is taking her campaign to Labrador West, where the party's Jordan Brown is seeking a second term. (Labrador West is on colleague Terry Roberts's list of five must-watch districts.)

A Liberal road trip that began on the west coast comes to St. John's on Thursday. Party leader Andrew Furey will be on the trail in metro.

PC Leader Ches Crosbie is taking the Tory campaign to the Burin Peninsula.

Read morefrom CBC Newfoundland and Labrador