Canada election: Liberals hoping to keep red wave going in Nova Scotia

The federal Liberals are hoping to once again dominate the province of Nova Scotia, but some of their seats are in danger of flipping during the 2021 Canada election.

Polls in Nova Scotia close at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic time and this story will be updated as results come in.

The province, which has 11 federal ridings, has been largely Liberal since the 2015 red wave in Atlantic Canada. At dissolution, 10 seats were held by the Liberals and one seat — West Nova — was held by a Conservative.

While the Liberals are hoping to keep up their momentum, some seats could be a toss-up.

In Halifax West, for instance, there is no incumbent because long-running Liberal MP Geoff Regan announced earlier this year he would be leaving politics. The new candidate, former Liberal MLA Lena Metlege Diab, will have big shoes to fill given Regan’s legacy.

She is running against Conservative Eleanor Humphries, the NDP’s Jonathan Roberts, the Green Party’s Richard Zurawski, Julie Scott with the People’s Party, and the Christian Heritage Party’s Kevin Schulthies.

The NDP, which had a stronghold in the riding of Halifax prior to the red wave, is trying to reclaim its seat with former MLA Lisa Roberts. She is going up against Liberal incumbent Andy Fillmore, who won in 2015 and 2019.

Also running in Halifax is Conservative Cameron Ells, the Green Party’s Jo-Ann Roberts, the People’s Party’s B. Alexander Hébert and Katie Campbell with the Communist Party.

Cape Breton-Canso was a close one in 2019, with Liberal Mike Kelloway just barely beating his Conservative opponent. While he’s up against a different Conservative — Fiona MacLeod — this time around, only time will tell if he’ll be able to hold on to his seat.

The NDP’s Janna Reddick and Brad Grandy with the People’s Party is also running in this district.

And Sydney-Victoria was also close in 2019, with Jaime Battiste narrowly winning against Conservative Eddie Orrell. Both politicians are running again in this riding, as is the NDP’s Jeff Ward, the Green’s Mark Embrett, the People’s Party’s Ronald Barron and Nikki Boisvert with the Marxist-Leninist Party.

by Global News