Central Nova Scotia
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Central Nova () is a federal
electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, Canada that was represented in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
from 1968 until 1996. In 1996, Antigonish County and part of Guysborough County were placed with Pictou County in a new electoral boundaries configuration to form the electoral district of Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough. A new version of Central Nova was established in 2003 and — in conjunction with the Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough iteration — represented a significant electoral boundaries change with specific reference to Antigonish County. Between 1867 and 1997, Antigonish County was not in a riding that included Pictou County; rather, it comprised either its own electoral district (
Antigonish Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...
), or part of other districts shared with Eastern Nova Scotia ( Antigonish-Guysborough) and Cape Breton Island communities ( Cape Breton Highlands Canso, 1968–1997). In 2013, part of Antigonish County was "placed back" with communities in the electoral district of Cape Breton Canso, a riding which had emerged in part from the former Cape Breton Highlands Canso riding in 1996. The current version of Central Nova includes Pictou County, parts of Antigonish and Guysborough Counties (including the Town of Antigonish and the Municipality of the District of St. Mary's) and extends into Halifax Regional Municipality.


Demographics

''According to the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...
, 2023 representation order'' Languages: 96.6% English, 1.8% French
Race: 91.7% White, 4.6% Indigenous, 1.8% Black
Religions: 62.1% Christian (23.0% Catholic, 10.2% United Church, 9.5% Anglican, 8.3% Presbyterian, 3.2% Baptist, 1.5% Methodist, 1.1% Pentecostal, 8.0% other), 36.7% none
Median income: $38,000 (2020)
Average income: $44,400 (2020)


Geography

The district covers all or part of the following counties: * Pictou County (all) *
Antigonish County Antigonish County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Antigonish, and b ...
(part) * Guysborough County (part) * Halifax County (part) Specifically, it includes the following municipal corporations: * Municipality of the County of Pictou * The towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Pictou, Westville, Trenton, and Antigonish * Municipality of the County of Antigonish * Municipality of the District of St. Mary's *
Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
(east of Jeddore Oyster Pond and Marinette). Communities include: ;Pictou County * New Glasgow *
Stellarton Stellarton is a town in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Mines. The ...
* Westville * Trenton *
Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'' Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk: ''Piktuk'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) nor ...
* River John ;Antigonish County (as part of the county portion placed in Central Nova) *
Antigonish Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...
;Guysborough County (as part of the county portion placed in Central Nova) * Goshen *
Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...
*
Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England Trafalgar may also refer to: Places * Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...
* Marie Joseph ;Halifax County (as part of the county portion placed in Central Nova) *
Sheet Harbour Sheet Harbour is a rural area, rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the eastern reaches of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, approximately northeast of the central urban area of the municipality, co ...
* Port Dufferin * Lake Charlotte * Jeddore Oyster Pond The electoral district has an area of 8,439 km2.


Political geography

In 2008, the riding had the unusual scenario of having Green Party leader
Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...
run without any Liberal opposition. Thus, the race was mostly between Conservative candidate
Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...
and May. May's support was concentrated in the community of
Antigonish Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...
. Outside this area, she won just a few pockets of support. She was nearly shut out in the New Glasgow metropolitan area, where she won just one poll. MacKay won most of the rest of the riding, and the NDP picked up three polls.


History

The district was created in 1966 from Antigonish—Guysborough (with part of Guysborough added to Central Nova, while Antigonish County and a portion of Guysborough were placed with the Cape Breton Highlands Canso riding), Colchester—Hants, and
Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'' Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk: ''Piktuk'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) nor ...
. In sum, in 1966, Central Nova consisted of Pictou County, southern Colchester County, eastern Halifax County, and western Guysborough County. In 1976, it gained some territory in Halifax County (eastern central portion), and it lost its territory in Colchester County. In 1987, it lost most of Guysborough County except for the most extreme western point, and gained all of central and central western Halifax County. In 1996, it was merged into Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, and Sackville—Eastern Shore. The electoral district was re-created in 2003: 93.3% of the riding came from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough riding, and 6.7% came from Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore. In the 2004 election, Conservative Party candidate
Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...
, who had represented Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, was returned to the House of Commons from Central Nova. He was re-elected in the 2006 election.
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
leader
Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...
contested the seat in the 2008 federal election. In a move that startled political observers, Liberal leader
Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (; ; born 28September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the List of ambassadors of Canada to France, Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the Eu ...
announced on April 13, 2007, that his party would not contest the seat in order to give May a better chance of winning, a move that marked the first time in decades that the Liberals did not field a full slate of candidates in a general election. In return, the Greens (who also fielded a full slate in the last election) did not contest Dion's Montreal riding. After coming in second to Peter MacKay, May announced she would not run in Central Nova in the next federal election. Its new boundaries, determined during 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution, have been legally defined in the 2013 representation order. The new boundaries encompass most of the pre-2012 riding as well as a portion of Nova Scotia represented in the current electoral districts of Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley and Sackville—Eastern Shore. It lost 9% of its previous territory to Cape Breton—Canso, territory that, for decades prior to this, had already been part of Cape Breton Highlands Canso. It came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election, which took place on 19 October 2015. Following the
2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution A redistribution of federal electoral districts ("ridings") began in Canada following the results of the 2021 Canadian census. The Constitution of Canada requires that federal electoral districts that compose the House of Commons undergo a re ...
, the riding lost the remainder of
Antigonish County Antigonish County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Antigonish, and b ...
to Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish and gained Lawrencetown, Porters Lake and Chezzetcook from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. These changes will came into effect upon the calling of the
2025 Canadian federal election The 2025 Canadian federal election was held on April 28, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. Governor General Mary Simon issued the writs of election on March 23, 2025, afte ...
.


Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:


Election results


2025


2021


2019


2015


2011


2008


2006


2004


1993


1988


1984


1983 by-election


1980


1979


1974


1972


1971 by-election


1968


See also

*
List of Canadian electoral districts This is a list of Canada's 343 federal electoral districts (commonly referred to as '' ridings'' in Canadian English) as defined by the ''2023 Representation Order''. Canadian federal electoral districts are constituencies that elect membe ...
*
Historical federal electoral districts of Canada This is a list of past arrangements of Electoral district (Canada), Canada's electoral districts. Each district sends one member to the House of Commons of Canada. Federal electoral districts in Canada are re-adjusted every ten years based on the ...


References

*


Notes


External links


Riding history for Central Nova (1966–1996) from the
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament () is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived th ...

Riding history for Central Nova (2003– ) from the
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament () is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived th ...
{{coord missing, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia federal electoral districts Antigonish, Nova Scotia Guysborough County, Nova Scotia New Glasgow, Nova Scotia Politics of Halifax, Nova Scotia