Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is pledging to turn Atlantic Canada blue in the next federal election.
Scheer told the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party’s annual general meeting in Halifax on Saturday that the region has been shortchanged by its Liberal representatives in Ottawa.
Scheer also accused the Liberals of stifling Atlantic innovation with tax proposals that amount to an “unprecedented attack” on small businesses.
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He says the East Coast’s lobster fishing industry is poised to take a hit under the Liberal government’s carbon tax plan.
He says Atlantic Canada’s 32 Liberal MPs, who swept the region in the 2015 federal election, have acted as spokespeople for Ottawa rather than giving voice to the ridings they represent.
Scheer told reporters he would leave it to his provincial counterparts to address the allegations of inappropriate behaviour that led to the resignation of former Nova Scotia Tory leader Jamie Baillie last month.