NDP handily wins Nova Scotia byelection race in Halifax party stronghold
HALIFAX — The provincial NDP in Nova Scotia has handily won a byelection in one of its Halifax strongholds in what one pollster says is an early test of the party’s leftward shift.
Unofficial results for the riding of Halifax Needham showed New Democrat Lisa Roberts, a journalist and community organizer, finishing well ahead of Liberal Rod Wilson, a family physician in the city’s north end.
Andy Arsenault, a retired RCMP officer running for the Progressive Conservatives, placed a distant third, while Green party candidate Thomas Trappenberg was fourth.
The area was held for 18 years by former NDP cabinet minister Maureen MacDonald, who was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2013. She also served as interim party leader after the NDP were defeated in the 2013 provincial election.