Atlantica Party announces new leader

The new leader of the Atlantica party says his first order of business is to remind people that in Nova Scotia there is a voting option outside of the three main provincial parties.

Kyle Woodbury, a 32-year-old resident of Stellarton, was announced on Tuesday as the successor to party founder and former leader Jonathan Dean, who stepped down after the 2021 provincial elections.

Woodbury has spent much of the past six years serving as an election preparation staffer for the Conservative Party of Canada, as well as provincial campaigning in several provinces, including Nova Scotia.

When he recently returned to Nova Scotia from Ottawa, he thought he was going to leave politics, in part because he didn’t see much difference between the Tories and the Liberals.

Then he heard that the Atlantica Party was about to voluntarily deregister and he saw that as an opportunity.

“If I don’t see the alternative anymore, I’d rather be the alternative,” says Woodbury, who works for Admiral Insurance.

“And in the end that’s what drew me to Atlantica. It wasn’t something I’ve tried and seen where and finally failed.”

Given the history of the party, there is only room for growth. First launched in 2010, the party has never come close to compiling a full list of candidates and those who run for Atlantica usually end up way behind on the ballot.

If I don’t see the alternative anymore, I’d rather be the alternative.-Kyle Woodbury

That change starts with raising awareness about the party, re-engaging former party members and volunteers and seeking new ones, Woodbury said.

“After that it’s the long and painful process of building a political organization, a party that can actually contest an election,” he said.

“That’s not a short-term goal, that’s not a short trip either, but it’s a goal that, if we’re willing to put in the effort, we can do it.”

Woodbury said he would like to develop policies and a platform based on member input, something that reflects what people want from the party.

While he supports past party policies such as free voting for MLAs, he said there needs to be more focus on health care and ways to address whether current spending is sustainable in the long run.

Woodbury said the initial focus on reconstruction and outreach work means the party is unlikely to field a candidate in the upcoming Preston by-election.

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