New Democrats outspent rivals in Pictou West byelection loss

Nova Scotia’s NDP outspent rivals in failed bid for Pictou West seat

According to a report released by Elections Nova Scotia on Monday, the Nova Scotia NDP outspent their political rivals in a failed attempt to win the Pictou West seat in last spring’s byelection. New Democrat Melinda MacKenzie’s campaign filed expenses totaling $54,205.99 for the May byelection, slightly more than the $52,257.47 spent by Progressive Conservative Marco MacLeod’s campaign. The Liberals spent significantly less, with expenses totaling $22,834.04 for their candidate Mary Wooldridge-Elliott’s campaign.

Despite outspending their opponents, MacKenzie received 949 votes, while MacLeod garnered 4,159 votes, easily retaining the seat previously held by PC MLA Karla MacFarlane. The Liberal candidate, Wooldridge-Elliott, received 548 votes, and Green Party candidate Clare Brett received 82 votes.

Since the Liberal and Green candidates did not receive at least 10% of the votes, they were not eligible to have any of their expenses covered by taxpayers. Both the PC and NDP campaigns received the maximum reimbursement of $23,526.18 based on a per-voter formula.

The expenses for this byelection were comparable to the Preston byelection campaigns in August 2023. The Progressive Conservatives spent $49,214 on Twila Grosse’s successful campaign, while the Liberals spent $47,101.52 on Carlo Simmons’ campaign. The NDP invested significantly more, spending $70,390.30 on Colter Simmonds’ campaign.

In the fall rematch for the Nov. 26 general election, Grosse retained her seat, outdistancing Simmonds by 925 votes and Simmons by 1,400 votes. MacLeod also retained his Pictou West seat last month, topping his closest challenger by more than 3,500 votes.

Candidates from the Nov. 26 election are required to file expense reports by Feb. 28, with a $50 per day fine for campaigns that do not file on time.