His Conservative margin in Parliament was down to 18.

Most important for the Hibernians in the long run, analysts say, is that they have pushed themselves toward the conservative margins of the Irish-American community.

Although the Conservative margin was considered to be substantial by the standards of many past governments, it was far smaller than the 203 of 282 seats they held in the outgoing House.

After defeating the Bruins twice in Edmonton by conservative margins, the Oilers lashed Boston with six goals in their first playoff appearance at Boston Garden.

Only one Conservative was elected; newcomer Ted Hartill successfully defended outgoing deputy leader Brenda Porter's seat of Ainsdale, though the Conservative margin of victory was cut from 45 in 2008 to just 15 points.

Dr. Dror and his colleagues came up with the figure of $9 million in start-up funds by measuring health risks and the cost of care for the populations already insured in the five regions - about 40,000 people - and adding a conservative margin of error.