Nova Scotia election riding results: Hants East

Progressive Conservative John A. MacDonald has been elected in the riding of Hants East.

There was no incumbent running in this riding. Veteran Liberal MLA Margaret Miller resigned effective June 1. She said it was partially because the premier’s office had hired a caucus staffer she accused of treating her and her female colleagues with “misogynistic” behaviour.

Riding background

The riding includes the corridor between Enfield and Shubenacadie, north of Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Mount Uniacke is also found in the riding.

Several small towns are found in the rural riding. Agriculture, forestry and tourism are the prominent industries.

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Candidates

Liberal: Michael Blois

• Grew up on an eighth-generation family farm
• Became director of the East Hants Chamber of Commerce in 2016 and has had entrepreneurial ventures including MudCraft, Empire Trails, and his family farm, Courthouse Hill farm

Progressive Conservative: John A. MacDonald

• Small business owner and Deputy Warden for East Hants
• Operates a company that writes software for the transportation industry

NDP: Abby Cameron

• A journalist and former editor of the Enfield Weekly Press and The Laker

Green: Simon Greenough

• Worked in the Annapolis Valley as a bartender and energy-efficient product installer since graduating from UNB with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2017
• Concerned about the environment and affordable housing in the area, he ran in the for a seat on Wolfville Town Council in 2020

History

Liberal Margaret Miller won the riding in 2013 with 47.39 per cent of the vote. She took the seat during the Liberal surge that swept through the province and defeated longtime NDP MLA John MacDonell, who had served as MLA since 1998.

In May 2021, Miller announced she was resigning her seat, in part because of premier’s office had hired a caucus staffer she accused of treating her and her female colleagues with “misogynistic” behaviour.