A professor of political science at StFX says federal election results in Cape Breton-Canso should be taken as a warning for members of all parties.
Rodger Cuzner, the Liberal MP who represented the riding since 2000, didn’t re-offer in 2019; newcomer Mike Kelloway kept the seat red by defeating Conservative Alfie MacLeod and five other candidates Monday night.
Yvon Grenier from the StFX political science department tells The Hawk Cape Breton-Canso is traditionally considered a safe Liberal seat, but Monday night’s race was touch-and-go in the early stages.
“It was very close, so it’s maybe a signal for next time,” he says. “These ridings should never be considered completely safe for any party.”
Kelloway ended up with roughly 38 per cent of the vote, four percentage points ahead of MacLeod; Laurie Suitor of the NDP was third, followed by Green candidate Clive Doucet.
Meanwhile, in Central Nova, Liberal Sean Fraser retained his seat, which he first won in 2015, with roughly 46 per cent of the vote; he defeated Conservative candidate George Canyon by more than 7,500 votes, or almost 17 percentage points.
Grenier says Fraser’s four years of experience in Ottawa and a strong ground game were huge factors in his win.
“He knows that there are some parts of his very big riding that would go blue,” he says. “It was important for him to try to maintain the kind of support he had last time, or not to lose too much.”
Betsy MacDonald of the New Democrats finished third in Central Nova; Green candidate Barry Randle was fourth.
