Nova Scotia Election: Bedford candidates

Quick take: Kelly Regan has held the riding for the Liberals since 2009. Regan is part of a political dynasty in the region — her husband has held the area federally since 2000.

READ MORE: All our Nova Scotia Election 2017 coverage

Candidates

Liberal: Regan was the minister of labour and advanced education under the Liberal government. In 2015 the government’s decision to remove a cap on tuition fee increases sparked protests from university students. The move was pitched as a “one-time market adjustment,” allowing universities to hike tuition fees beyond the mandated cap of a three per cent annual increase in fees. Prior to becoming an MLA, Regan was journalist.

Progressive Conservative: Valerie White is a retired social worker with more than three decades of experience. Her bio says she represents Nova Scotia on the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Committee of Officials for the Ministers Responsible for Seniors.

NDP: Blake Wright is a lawyer with background in Aboriginal, environmental and immigration law.

Green: Michealle Hanshaw is an employee at a Nova Scotia-based seafood company. 

Riding background

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History: In 2013, Regan won the riding for the Liberals with 60.6 per cent of the vote. In the three elections prior to Regan’s election the riding voted in a Progressive Conservative candidate. Prior to that, it flip-flopped between the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives.

Boundaries: The riding covers the area southeast of Highway 102. It stretches around the Bedford Basin, south of Larry Uteck Boulevard to Magazine Hill.

Demographics: The riding includes residential areas and businesses and strip malls mostly along the Bedford Highway.