Candidates in Pictou West byelection tread lightly on controversial issues

This race to represent Pictou West at Province House is between a teacher, a school bus driver, a sawmill owner and a caregiver.

Although the candidates in the May 21 byelection come from varied backgrounds, they are choosing their words carefully when it comes to issues that have divided their community. 

For example, only one of the four candidates is fully in favour of a proposal by Bear Head Energy to install 100 wind turbines in eastern Pictou County, not far outside the riding.

"I just really would like to see our province be right up there with all of the other great things that are going on around the world for green energy, including this wind farm," said Green Party candidate Clare Brett, a caregiver and singer-songwriter who moved to Nova Scotia six years ago from B.C.

"I don't know much about the actual farm itself, but it doesn't bother me to see them."

Brett previously ran for the Green Party of Nova Scotia in 2021 and garnered 124 votes.

Melinda MacKenzie, running for the NDP, wants more information before taking a stand.

"It's something that needs more community consult and buy-in from the people that it's going to affect," said MacKenzie, a teacher and Pictou town councillor.

Liberal Mary Wooldridge-Elliott, a school bus driver and a member of Pictou County council, also suggested the wind farm should only go ahead if it has majority support.

"I feel that it is a hard decision to make, but we always have to do what's best for the people," said Wooldridge-Elliott, who is, like Brett, trying for the second time to win the seat.

Wooldridge-Elliott came a distant second in the 2021 general election. Incumbent PC MLA Karla MacFarlane took almost 64 per cent of the vote in that election.

"I can say what I think, but Tim [Houston] is going to make that decision regardless, so I'm hoping he's going to make that right decision for the people, and I feel that most of the people don't want it," said Wooldridge-Elliott.

PC candidate Marco MacLeod said the fact the Blue Mountain project is proposed for outside the riding means he isn't up on it.

"I don't know enough about it," said MacLeod, a local sawmill owner. "It's not in my constituency, so I can't speak to that."

Houston held a town hall meeting last month to hear what his constituents in neighbouring Pictou East thought of the Bear Head proposal. More than 200 people showed up, with an overwhelming majority saying they opposed the project.

The Northern Pulp mill is another divisive issue in the region. Although it has been closed for more than four years, the company has said it is still working on plans to reopen it some day. It's a claim Houston publicly disputed last week. 

The candidates are also being careful what they say about what the mill's future should be.

"I'm not against forestry or forestry management," said Brett.

The Green Party candidate grew up and lived in towns with pulp mills on the West Coast. She said the Northern Pulp site could find new life as has been the case with some B.C. mills.

"That's certainly a possibility," said Brett. "I would just love to see this harbour stay as pristine and blue as it is right now."

MacLeod called the possible reopening of the mill "an emotional topic in this area."

"The mill has been closed for five years," said MacLeod. "I haven't heard anything about a proposal for it."

He repeated his answer when asked for his personal view on a possible reopening.

"I see it from both sides," said Wooldridge-Elliott. "I see that the people in the forestry would like to have it. I see the fishers don't want it because it's in their water."

But the Liberal candidate suggested she was OK with the current shutdown.

Similar to her stance on wind turbines, MacKenzie said she would be guided by public opinion.

"For the mill to open again it would have to go through some serious environmental assessment protocol and there needs to be buy-in from all community members and stakeholders in order for me to support that.

"I know there's a lot of jobs that were lost because of the mill," said MacKenzie. "And I think it's really important for the provincial government to work on a rural development plan so that we can get those jobs back."

The byelection is necessary to replace MacFarlane, who resigned her seat just over a month ago.

Early voting numbers

As of Saturday, 1,041 early votes had been cast in the byelection, according to Elections Nova Scotia.

There were almost 12,000 registered voters in the riding as of April 21, it said.