7 things to watch for on election night

While the winner ofthe longest federal campaign in recent Canadian history may not even be known by the time night turns to morning,trends inthehours leading up to the final call willprovide some key insights into how things could shape up.

And there will be other developments, too, throughout theeveningand even after all the results are in, that will be of interest.

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Here are seventhings to look out for during election night:

AsAtlantic Canada goes, so goes the election? Maybe not

With all the broadcast blackouts lifted, the firstresults will be trickling infrom theEast Coast, by about7:30p.m. ET. TheLiberals are expected to nearly sweep Atlantic Canada, buttheir earlysuccess here is notnecessarily indicative of how the rest of the evening will go.

"That doesn't necessarily presage anything," said EllyAlboim,associate professor in the school of journalism and communication at Carleton University."Atlantic Canada has on several occasions bucked national trends and gone the other way."

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Andif the Conservativesare able to hang on to a handful of seats, particularlyin New Brunswick, it could be a sign that the night will not be as dour for the Conservativesas some have forecast. Of special interest will bePeter MacKay's formerriding inCentral Nova, Nova Scotia,and whether the Tories will be able to hang on to a riding that the former defence minister had held since 1997.

The battle for Quebec

It was theNDP'sOrange Wave in Quebec that propelledJackLaytonand his party into the spot of official opposition. Theiroverwhelmingdominancein the province, however, could be short-lived if the Liberals succeed in carvingout a presence.

"If Quebeccomes in hotter than 12 or 15 seats [for the Liberals],if it comes inwith 30, then they may be heading into majority territory,"Alboimsaid. "Sowatchingthe degree of breakthrough in Quebec may give you a hint about majority orminority."

Something else to watchfor is whether theConservatives willbenefitfrom the niqab debateand see an expansion of their support beyond Quebec City and into theEastern Townships. The Conservatives had been hoping to double their seat total to 10 from five.

For the NDP, Quebec is it, and if they can't hold the province, says Alboim, there's no reason to expect they canmake big gains anywhere else.

"Quebec is their linchpin. You'll know their fate if they've hemorrhaged badly in Quebec."

Also, keep an eye on the Bloc,nearly decimatedinthelast election, to see whether their political fortunes will improve and if they can play any kind of spoiler role on the national stage.

Painting the GTAred over Tory blue

For the Tories, the story of the evening is all aboutcounting losses. Ontario will be the first province where some of those losses are likely to stack up, most notably in the Greater Toronto Area.The Conservatives' great electoral success has been their significant breakthrough in the suburban areas around Toronto, where the Liberals lost all but one of their seats to the Conservativesin 2011.

Polls suggest the Liberals are poised to take most of those seats back, and how well they do here could be a sign of how things will shape up this evening.

"Virtually every seat is up for grabs, and the Liberals are currently favoured to prevail in the vast majority of them," wrote poll analystEric Grenier. "If they do, they will likely form the next government. But if the Conservatives can outperform expectations in just 10 seats, or even less, here, that could make the difference between a Liberal minority and a Conservative plurality."

Does it all come down to B.C?

It's become almost a Canadian election cliche, but with a three-way race in B.C.,the winnercould be decidedin this province.

B.C. is usually a battle between the Conservatives and NDP, but one observersaysthe numbers are currently all over the map, with the Liberals competitive in a number of ridings.

"I think the odds are the election will be so close that B.C. will tell us if it's a minority and who the minority is for," said pollsterMichael Marzolini."Or, who gets the majority."

Get out the vote vs.the polls

The ability of the parties to get their supporters out come election day, the so-called ground war,could well be the deciding factor tonight. As Bill Tieleman, a communications consultant and former NDP strategist, recently told CBC News,a five percent difference inpolling meansnothing on election dayif a partycan't get its vote out the door, or another partydoes it better.

This is an area where the Tories have traditionally had an advantage. Their voter base skews older and ismuch morelikely to vote. As well, there may bea tendency for people to under-report their intention to voteConservative, which may have an impact on polling.

Conservativestrategist Jason Lietaer said the Tories usually receive a two to four per cent bump come election day.

The fate of cabinet

If much of Ontario falls to the Liberals, someof Conservative Leader StephenHarper'smost prominent cabinet ministers could fall with it. That wouldinclude Finance Minister Joe Oliver andImmigration Minister Chris Alexander in Ajax. Fisheries and OceansMinister Gail Shea in P.E.I. is also in a tight race.

The fate of theleaders

It's possible that astraight loss could prompt Harper to resign this evening.Paul Martin stepped down on election night when he lost to the Conservatives in 2006. Even a minoritywin, with the party leaders vowing to topple his government, could have Harpercontemplatinghis future.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has said he will not step down, but with polls suggesting a third-place finish, his position as party leader could be fragile.

The Greens and Bloc could be in linefor new leadership if Elizabeth May is unable to expand her seat count and Gilles Duceppe's Bloc makes fewgains orhe fails to win his seat.

The only candidatewhose future as party leader seems secure is Justin Trudeau. Even with a loss, the party is poised to,at the very least, triple its previousseat count, and could go much higher.