For those who haven’t already, please exercise your franchise on Aug. 17.
There are some who have made a conscious decision not to vote this election because they simply do not like the options before them, and those opinions are valid, but it’s hard to comprehend that there are Nova Scotians who still haven’t made up their minds, or remain disengaged and disinterested.
Out of this undecided are some who will make up their minds this week, or over the weekend, and will cast their ballots in this historic election.
They will contribute to what is expected to be a high turnout in this election, but whether it will be at historic levels given the pandemic and the time of year, remains to be seen.
Without knowing the precise turnout numbers, it seems that interest in the 2021 election is as high, if not higher, than previous votes and the results on Tuesday night will be interesting.
At dissolution, the governing Liberals held a slim minority with 24 seats, the Official Opposition Progressive Conservatives had 17, the NDP five, and there are two independent MLAs.
In the days leading up to the election call, and in the weeks following, the three main party leaders have been to Strait area ridings multiple times, underscoring the significance of the local ridings in the provincial fortunes of each.
In the riding of Antigonish, Liberal incumbent Randy Delorey is up against Will Fraser of the Green Party, Moraig Macgillivray of the NDP, Ryan Smyth of the Atlantica Party, and PC candidate Michelle Thompson.
Another Liberal incumbent, Lloyd Hines in Guysborough-Tracadie, is taking on Gabriel Bruce of the Green Party, Greg Morrow representing the PCs, and NDP candidate Matt Stickland.
In Inverness, PC incumbent Allan MacMaster is facing a challenge from NDP candidate Joanna Clark and Damian MacInnis, with the Liberal Party.
There is also a four-way contest in the newly restored Acadian riding of Richmond, which has no incumbent, but features independent MLA Alana Paon fighting it out against PC candidate Trevor Boudreau, Liberal Matt Haley, and Bryson Syliboy, with the NDP.
With such a slim hold on government, all parties are hoping to do well in the Strait area ridings, and the outcomes in the region could very well mirror the overall results and dictate which party will form Nova Scotia’s next government.
The Liberals and PCs need to win at least three of the local ridings to have a solid chance at coming to power.
With opinions polls disagreeing on the spread between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, it has be stressed that opinion polls are merely snapshots in time and draw from a small pool of potential voters. They might provide a glimpse of the support out there at a given time, but they are not always reliable.
And the overall numbers depend on which the parts of the province are used in the sample. Any poll which draws heavily from regions where one party is strongest will skew the results their way, and given that each party is strong is different parts of Nova Scotia, this could pose a problem for any polling firm.
The fact is that each party has presented different visions for the province, and the choices before voters are as stark as ever.
While they have talked about other issues, the PCs have tried to make this election about health care; even going so far as to commit billions in spending and to run deficits for the next six years to fix what they claim is a broken system.
The Liberals offered a platform that is more about the overall economy; centering on training, education, infrastructure, as well as health care.
The NDP made issues like long-term care, affordable housing, wages, paid leave, and the health care system the main issues on their campaign.
The only common thread is health care and all parties seem to agree that the system needs changes but how that will be done, how much it will cost and how long it will take are the sources of disagreement.
Also subject to disagreement is the placement and priority of other issues, along with health care. No party is willing to put health care on the backburner, but some are more willing to juggle other issues while they address this important file.
Whether this election comes down to one issue, who voters prefer to tackle those other issues, and how they want them tackled, will all be hashed out on Tuesday night.
Please participate in this important election!