Was the Nova Scotia election a sign that the Liberal brand is alive and well in Canada?

A Liberal party will form government in Nova Scotia.

On Tuesday, Stephen McNeil's Liberals won that province's election — in convincing fashion — becoming the first majority Grit government in almost 20 years.

The Progressive Conservatives become the official opposition while outgoing premier Darrell Dexter and his New Democrats fall to third party status with only seven seats.

Could this election be a litmus test for the federal parties?

[ Related: Liberals win majority government in Nova Scotia election, NDP vote collapses ]

A little over a year ago, several pundits and analysts suggested that the Liberal brand in Canada was on the demise.

Federally, the party had just come off one of its worst elections in their history relegated to third party status. Provincially, 'Liberals' bled votes in six elections and were struggling in the opinion polls. There was a clear sense that Canadians were becoming polarized and turning away from the tarnished middle-of-the-road party.

Does McNeil's win in Nova Scotia, Christy Clark's win in British Columbia and a boost in the opinion poll fortunes for the Ontario Liberals signify a Liberal brand bounce back? And does that bode well for Justin Trudeau's Liberals?

[ Related: Click here for complete riding-by-riding results for the Nova Scotia election]

In an email exchange with Yahoo Canada News, Liberal insider and Sun News personality Warren Kinsella didn't want to talk about a resurgence. Instead, he chided the media suggesting that stories of the Liberal party demise were greatly exaggerated.

"I can wallpaper my house with all the Liberal Party obituaries that have been written on recent years. They were wrong then, and they're wrong now," Kinsella said.

"Stephen McNeil has shown the way. Other Liberal leaders will follow."

Right leaning political consultant Gerry Nicholls, also suggests that we shouldn't read too much into provincial elections.

"'[The Liberal brand is rebounding'] will likely be the spin from federal Liberals and from some pundits, and it might very well be true," Nicholls told Yahoo Canada News.

"However, a couple of caveats to keep in mind: provincial elections have a different dynamic, that often doesn’t translate into federal politics; the Liberal brand has remained strong in the Maritimes, even in the dark days of Ignatieff."

[ Related: Elections Nova Scotia investigating photos of completed ballots ]

Just as Nicholls suggested, many are making the link between provincial success and federal success.

"It's undeniable federal fortunes can have an impact on provincial fortunes, and vice versa. I remember door knocking federally in BC in 2004, being asked if we were the same Liberals as those Gordon Campbell Liberals, and trying to sense if that would be a good or a bad thing for that person or not," Jeff Jedras, a Liberal activist from Toronto told Yahoo.

"I definitely think the Liberal brand is rising nationally, and that probably helped the Nova Scotia Liberals. Many things helped them though, and had to align for tonight to happen. An unpopular government, a lackluster campaign by Dexter and his team, a lot of hard work over the years by Stephen McNeil and his team, and ideas and a vision that resonated with Nova Scotians. You can't have a good brand without a good product. It's definitely a good night to be a Liberal."

Jedras' analysis was certainly the sentiment on Twitter on Tuesday evening — at least from his fellow Liberals.

Maybe it is time for the pundits to turn their attention to the NDP?

After humiliating losses in B.C. and Nova Scotia and poor polling numbers federally, maybe we all should be talking about the demise of the NDP brand in Canada.

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