Voters in the rural Nova Scotia electoral district of Pictou West will head to the polls for a byelection today to replace the recently retired legislative speaker.
Progressive Conservative Karla MacFarlane announced her retirement last month, and two weeks later Premier Tim Houston called the byelection to fill the seat she had held since 2013.
She easily retained the seat for the Progressive Conservatives in the 2021 general election, taking nearly 64 per cent of the vote, but the riding that includes the town of Pictou had gone to the NDP for a decade before MacFarlane’s election.
Get breaking National news
The PCs are being represented in today’s byelection by Marco MacLeod, who runs a small custom lumber mill on his family farm.
- First Nations chiefs call for inquiry into Ontario wildfire response
- AI data centres have 4 in 5 Albertans concerned over environment, electricity costs: Poll
- Canada won’t join U.S. at Gordie Howe bridge opening after tariff threat
- New Ivor Strong Bridge on Calgary’s Deerfoot Trail to open on July 27
Also vying for the seat is Liberal candidate and member of Pictou County council Mary Wooldridge-Elliott, who finished a distant second to MacFarlane in 2021, the NDP’s Melinda MacKenzie, who is on Pictou town council, and Green Party candidate Clare Brett, who also ran in 2021.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2024.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.