Voters on Labrador coasts have no real options but Liberal candidates, says mayor
Pinware's Didier Nalleau thinks voter exhaustion, broken promises to blame for apathy
With the nomination deadline just hours away, the mayor of a coastal Labrador town says it's sad that the district he lives in doesn't have a full slate of candidates.
Pinware Mayor Didier Nalleau, who is also president of the Combined Councils of Labrador, said people in Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair should have a choice from all the parties on election day.
'It makes for an unbalanced situation and is probably seen as a unfair voting," he told CBC's Labrador Morning on Thursday.
Liberal Lisa Dempster is running as the incumbent in Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, and Randy Edmunds is once again carrying the Liberal banner in Torngat Mountains, on the north coast.
While the NDP is running candidates in both districts, neither are from the region or have plans to campaign there.
The Progressive Conservatives don't have a candidate in either district.
"I don't know if we can solve that," said Nalleau. "The positions have been open to pretty well everybody, and nobody was told not to run."
Election exhaustion
Nalleau thinks voter exhaustion after the federal election and a general apathy towards provincial politicians could be to blame for the lack of choice.
"Everyone was interested in running it seems for the federal, but there seems to be a bit of a disconnect for the provincial," he said.
"They're probably also tired of promises they've heard in the past."
Nalleau said Labrador voters are unhappy with stalled discussions on building a fixed link to Newfoundland, general road repairs in the coastal areas and safety concerns over the overflowing Forteau dump.
Paul Davis responds
Meanwhile, PC Leader Paul Davis said Thursday he thought the party would have a candidate in every district, but Torngat Mountains and Cartwright-L'Anse Au Clair prooved especially difficult.
"The coast of Labrador in both districts have been a challenge for us, and while we have many people that we have spoken with and have contacted us ... at this point in time, we don't have a candidate in those two districts," he said.
The deadline for nominating candidates is 2 p.m. NT Friday.