An upcoming by-election in Cape Breton will have more French services available to voters than any before, according to Elections Nova Scotia.
The new riding of Chéticamp-Margarees-Pleasant Bay was created to give Acadians more representation in the legislature.
Naomi Shelton, director of policy and communications with Elections Nova Scotia, says that is why they took a different approach with this riding and put an extra emphasis on offering things in French.
“We have bilingual information on the by election website page, all the information that we have on that site. We’ve translated as much as possible,” says Shelton.
Shelton says they have focused heavily on hiring people to work the election who are able to speak French. But they have also hired some French media spokespeople who can talk to French media outlets, something they have never done for any riding in the past.
Smallest amount of voters in the province
The riding is considered an exceptional area, which means the estimated amount of eligible voters is less than 25 per cent below the average amount in other ridings across the province, according to the government.
The new riding split the former one of Inverness in two. Now there is Chéticamp-Margarees-Pleasant Bay and the riding of Inverness-We’koqma’q.
In the last provincial election, Inverness had 14,534 people registered in the final list of electors, according to a document from Elections Nova Scotia. In that election, the riding with the smallest number of electors was Argyle, which had 6,873.
Now, Elections Nova Scotia estimates that the Chéticamp-Margarees-Pleasant Bay riding has 3,923 electors, as of May 24.
Nearly 10 per cent voted so far
About 10 per cent of the voters have already cast an early ballot. That is 397 people, as of when polls closed June 6, according to elections Nova Scotia.
They will update the early voting stats every Monday until the by-election is over.
Shelton said she cannot comment on the turnout of early voters yet because that could indirectly influence the early voting pattern. However, after the elections, they will release statistics examining early voting and overall voter turnout.
Voting information
There are a few ways to vote early ahead of the election.
Voters can visit the returning office to cast an early ballot.
Two community polls will be available at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 6541 Cabot Trail, North East Margaree and at the Whale Interpretive Centre, 104 Harbour Road Pleasant Bay. They will be open Thursday to Saturday this week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, which is June 23. Voters will have to vote at their assigned polling location or the returning office.
The most up to date voting information is on the Elections Nova Scotia website.
