Quick take: Dartmouth East will be a riding to watch during the election. There is no incumbent candidate as only a few days into the 2017 campaign former Liberal MLA Andrew Younger withdrew citing health reasons.
READ MORE: All our Nova Scotia Election 2017 coverage
Candidates
Liberal: Edgar Burns is one of the youngest candidates in the election. The 28-year-old has an extensive resume with the Liberals having worked for Liberal MPs Geoff Regan and Andy Fillmore and volunteered for Younger when he was a Liberal. He’s currently articling at BoyneClarke LLP, the law firm that represented Younger when he was a witness in a court case two years ago.
Progressive Conservative: Tim Halman is a teacher at Prince Andrew High School. In 2014, he was named Canada’s Everyday Political Citizen by the non-partisan charity Samara Canada. He won the award for his work engaging youth in politics. Halman was acclaimed as the PC candidate for Dartmouth East in June 2016 but took a leave of absence when his wife was diagnosed with cancer — she died in March 2017.
NDP: Bill McEwen is a Canadian Forces veteran who retired in 2011. Since then, he has worked as a journalist and IT professional, according to his bio. McEwen originally resigned May 15 after controversial online comments surfaced from him. However, Elections Nova Scotia said in a news release May 16 that The Elections Act does not allow for withdrawal after nominations have closed. As a result, McEwen’s name will remain on the ballot.
Green: Matthew Richey is the Green candidate in Dartmouth East.
Riding background
History: Andrew Younger won the 2013 election with 63.85 per cent of the vote but was kicked out of the Liberal caucus in 2015. He served as an independent for the remainder of the session. Other than two NDP victories in the riding in the early 2000s, the riding has been staunchly Liberal since the 1980s.
Boundaries: The riding is bounded by Portland Street, Main Street, the circumferential highway, and the Forest Hills Extension.
Demographics: Dartmouth East includes homes along Lake Micmac, as well as a major shopping district on Main Street and the Akerley campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.
Comments