Liberal, Tory contest in Cumberland-Colchester mirrors national race

CBC

14-04-2025

Midway through the election campaign, at a local candidates debate in Truro, the Conservative incumbent in Cumberland-Colchester and a first-time Liberal candidate went toe to toe.
Liberal Alana Hirtle accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of wanting to "cut every program in health care." Conservative Stephen Ellis countered that the claim was "misinformation."
Ellis said the Trudeau government's nine consecutive deficit budgets have resulted in "unsustainable" debt, and suggested his party's policies on resource development could counteract the high cost of debt servicing. Hirtle said spending by her party shows that it wants to "invest."
Candidates for the NDP and Green Party also participated in the debate, hosted by the Truro and Colchester Chamber of Commerce, though neither drew the ire of any of their competitors.
It was emblematic of the two-way race happening on the national stage – a microcosm of which is taking shape in this northern Nova Scotia riding.
Ellis runs on affordability, health care
Decades ago, the riding might have been considered a blue stronghold, but it hasn't been that way in about 20 years. In that time, voters have moved through Conservative, Independent and Liberal MPs, and have twice dumped incumbents to switch parties.
Ellis was first elected in 2021, beating out one-term Liberal MP Lenore Zann.
He said he's running again because he wants to help address the high cost of living, which he said is the No. 1 issue he hears about on the doorstep. He also wants to continue the work he started as Conservative health critic.
Ellis was a family doctor in Truro for about 20 years until he ran for Parliament in 2021. Health care is managed by provincial governments, but Ellis said provincial "silos" are preventing improvements.
"We need to have great leadership at the federal level," he said in an interview following the debate.
He said the Liberal government of the past 10 years has not provided that leadership.
Hirtle advocates for small business, Carney leadership
Hirtle said she's a longtime Liberal supporter and has talked about running for many years, but this is her first go.
Some know her for her contributions to fundraising and organizing the construction of a playground and community centre for the community of Portapique in the aftermath of the 2020 mass shooting.
Her day job is with the Community Business Development Corporation, a federally funded program that helps small businesses and startups. She said that experience is a big part of what motivated her to run.
"People have been going to other parts of the country for a long time," she said in an interview at her campaign office. "It's time to bring them back home and help them to understand that they can start businesses, they can have lives here as well."
Another big motivator for Hirtle is Carney. She said many of the voters she's met and listened to during the campaign are predominantly worried about tariffs and threats of annexation from the U.S. President Donald Trump.
"[Carney] has got a firm hand on the rudder and he's going to help us through this difficult situation to make sure that we do have the best chance of success," Hirtle said, echoing a dominant campaign message from her party.
Data aggregators including 338Canada.com and TheWrit.ca reflect the competition between Ellis and Hirtle. Both had Cumberland-Colchester as a toss-up in the third week of the campaign.
Toss-up is still the projection from 338Canada. The Writ, which is run by Eric Grenier, who also runs CBC's Poll Tracker, recently bumped the projection to Conservative-leaning.
NDP candidate runs for 13th time
No party other than the Liberals or Conservatives has been competitive in Cumberland-Colchester in any recent election, but that doesn't bother NDP candidate Larry Duchesne.
Duchesne said he wouldn't bet on himself to win, but he stepped up for the party anyway because he believes in its values and he has lots of campaign experience. Not counting this one, Duchesne has run for the NDP in 12 federal and provincial elections in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island since the 1970s.
"I know that even though we don't get elected in all the campaigns we run in, we're making a difference," he said, pointing to dental care and pharmacare, which came out of a Liberal-NDP pact.
He said he sees the campaign as an opportunity to talk about the NDP, as well as his "pet" environmental issue, glyphosate spraying.
Health Canada says the common herbicide poses no risks to human health when used properly. Duchesne wants Ottawa to do a "stronger investigation into the safety of it."
Kelly-Ann Callaghan is running for the Greens. Callaghan lives in Shelburne, N.S., which is more than 200 kilometres from Cumberland-Colchester. She said the Green nomination was contested in her home riding, so she conceded and volunteered to run wherever the party might need her.
She said she's running primarily out of concern for widespread housing insecurity and homelessness.
Paul Church is running for the People's Party.