Liberals Kelloway, Battiste announce they will run in new federal ridings in N.S.
Liberal Mike Kelloway has officially declared his candidacy for the new federal riding of Sydney-Glace Bay, while fellow Liberal Jaime Battiste has decided to run for the riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.
Kelloway, who was first elected as an MP in 2019, made the announcement in a social media post on Saturday evening. He expressed his excitement and readiness for the upcoming election, stating, “I have to say to my team and myself were absolutely thrilled. Let’s keep up the fight for Cape Breton and Canada.”
Both Kelloway and Battiste were initially competing for the same seat in Sydney-Glace Bay following changes to their current ridings. Ultimately, Battiste chose to pursue a different direction, explaining, “My numbers were looking very strong in this riding and Mike Kelloway’s numbers were looking very strong in the other riding. And so the whole point of this election is to get a strong mandate for Mark Carney.”
Battiste, Canada’s first Mi’kmaw MP, had also been a contender for the Liberal leadership before withdrawing from the race, which was ultimately won by Carney. He noted that this experience helped raise his profile not only in his riding but also across the Atlantic region and beyond.
The ballot for the upcoming election is taking shape, with former Nova Scotia cabinet minister Allan MacMaster running for the Conservatives in the Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish riding. Judith Clifford is listed as the candidate for the People’s Party of Canada.
In Sydney-Glace Bay, lawyer Anna Manley is running for the Conservatives, while Jeffrey Evely is the People’s Party of Canada candidate. Michael Pittman is representing the Libertarian Party of Canada. As of now, the NDP and Greens have not selected candidates for either riding.
The Sydney-Glace Bay riding has a population of over 82,000 people, while Cape Breton-Antigonish-Canso has approximately 75,000 residents. The federal election is scheduled for April 28th, and the competition is heating up as candidates prepare to vie for the support of voters in their respective ridings.
