Under amendments passed by the Legislature in 2004, elections in Newfoundland and Labrador are now held on fixed dates: the second Tuesday in October every four years.

[3] Lorraine Michael's New Democratic Party won a record number of seats and placed second in the popular vote for the first time in the province's history.

[2] The party platform included the phasing out of the payroll tax over six years, eliminating provincial student loans and replacing them with needs-based grants over four years, improving health care wait times, establishing a ceiling for new spending growth, investing a third of any surplus into unfunded public pension funds, the creation of a population growth strategy, reforming the adoption process to make it easier for people to adopt children and provide province-wide high-speed access within four years.

[2] The party platform advocated for the creation of a legacy fund for offshore oil revenues, a new deal to develop the Lower Churchill hydroelectric development, annual increase to retired public service pensions, improve high-speed internet and cellphone service in rural areas, merge the Department of Business with the Department of Innovation, Trade, and Rural Development, establish a fisheries investment and diversification fund, creation of a fisheries loan board, initiate a judicial inquiry dealing with management of the fishery and operating a marine rescue subcentre in the province.

[25] At 10:00 am on September 19, 2011, Premier Dunderdale met with Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie who dissolved the 46th General Assembly, officially launching the election campaign.

[43] The parties campaign slogans for the 2011 election are: The tentative deal to develop the $6.2 billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in Labrador was negotiated by the Progressive Conservative government in November 2010.

The NDP have had similar concerns and both party leaders have called for spending on the project to stop until more independent analysis' can be conducted to see if the current deal is the best one for the province.

[48] Dunderdale, accompanied by Jackman and Grand Bank district MHA Darin King, refused to negotiate with the workers until after the election.

Dumaresque stated that "there are a hell of a lot more priorities outside the overpass that need to be addressed before we start forking more money over to the City of St.