Does your vote matter? Turnout in the 2017 election was at an all-time low, 53.4%. Barely half the eligible voters participated in the election. But 5 of the races in the 2017 election were decided by less than 100 votes! In Cape Breton/Richmond, PC Alana Paon beat the incumbent Liberal Michel Samson by 20 votes. Liberal Lloyd Hines won by only 71 votes in Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie. In the end, a few hundred votes across the province kept the Liberals in the majority.

By Richard Bell

Lots of politicians will tell you that they’re “fighters,” but Janet Moulton isn’t kidding. She really was a fighter back in the 1970s, when she studied judo for 8 years and traveled to bouts around the country.

By Richard Bell

Rhonda MacLellan was born in Chilliwack, BC and spent most of her life in British Columbia, but she always loved Nova Scotia, and finally moved here for good in 2017. “Nova Scotia’s just in my DNA,” MacLellan said in an interview. “My Dad was born in Deepdale, Cape Breton; his first language was Gaelic. He worked in the coal mines, fought in World War II, and moved to BC. I came to visit with his relatives many times—I’ve got 31 first cousins, most of whom live in Nova Scotia. Moving to Nova Scotia was something I always wanted to do, once my children were grown and settled. And after watching how the province handled the pandemic, it looked even more like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

By Richard Bell

For 33 years, Larry Harrison was pastor at two churches, preaching two sermons every Sunday, one at 9:30 at one church, and another sermon at 11 at the other church.

By David Shuman

Kent Smith has been practicing politics from the outside for years. A native of Sheet Harbour, he settled in Musquodoboit Harbour, where he became the first president of the Musquodoboit Harbour and Area Chamber of Commerce and Civic Affairs.

By David Shuman

Dee Dwyer comes from a family tradition of community service and engagement with the environment. She was born in Liverpool, but grew up on West Petpeswick Road in Musquodoboit Harbour and graduated from Eastern Shore District High.

By David Shuman

Incumbent MLA Kevin Murphy said that, out of all the work he has done in his position, he is most proud of his work in disability justice, culminating in the Accessibility Act of 2017.

By Richard Bell
Colten Simmonds may be a newcomer to politics, but he’s no newcomer to the Preston riding. His father is from East Preston, and his mother’s from North Preston. He was raised in North Preston. He moved to Ontario when he was 12, but came back to North Preston every summer, and finally moved back to work at the North Preston Community Center when he was 27.

Well before she became a candidate for MLA, Angela Simmonds had already accumulated an impressive array of awards recognizing her work on behalf of the people in the Preston riding—especially her involvement in helping people gain clear title to land their families have lived on in some cases for more than 200 years.

By Richard Bell

Politics is nothing new to North Preston native Archy Beals, reaching back to his days in the Dalhousie Student Union. “I’ve always been involved with various community organizations,” Beals said in a phone interview. “It’s a natural fit for me.”

By David J. Shuman

In 2020, emergency rooms in hospitals in the Eastern Shore Musquodoboit Community Health Board were closed for 5080.5 hours, more than 10 times the number of closure hours just five years ago. ESMCHB hospitals include Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital in Musquodoboit Harbour, Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital (MVMH) in Middle Musquodoboit, and Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital (ESMH) in Sheet Harbour.

By David J. Shuman

The Cooperator has gotten an early look at the data on emergency room closures for HRM’s three rural hospitals, managed by the Eastern Shore Musquodoboit Community Health Board (ESMCHB).

By David J. Shuman

Patios, campgrounds, and some personal service businesses can reopen starting on Wednesday as pandemic restrictions loosen.