ANTIGONISH: Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate Michelle Thompson is heading to Province House as part of the tidal wave of blue sweeping Nova Scotia as a result of the province’s 41st general election.
With all 36 polls reporting to Elections Nova Scotia (ENS), Thompson received a total of 4,187 votes, which accounted for 50.3 per cent of the 8,317 casted votes.
The CEO of the RK MacDonald Nursing Home in Antigonish, who has spent the previous 30 years in the health care sector knocked off Liberal incumbent cabinet minister Randy Delorey.
“We did it!” Thompson wrote in a Facebook post after being declared the winner. “This was our campaign and this is our victory.”
She went on to thank everyone who made her victory possible, from individuals who took a sign, who donated, volunteered their time, or simply shared her posts on social media.
“To my team of dedicated volunteers, thank you for your hard work and dedication,” Thompson said. “To my family, thank you for being so supportive over the past month, without you this campaign wouldn’t have been possible.”
She also wanted to take the time to thank the other candidates on a great campaign.
“We all share a common goal, to make our community a better place, and I want to thank you all for your hard work and tireless dedication to Antigonish,” Thompson said. “Whether you marked an ‘X’ next to my name or one of the other fantastic candidates just know, I will represent you, I will hear you, I will fight for you.”
Delorey, who recorded 2,579 votes – 1,298 less than he did in the previous provincial election – was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017 with 43 per cent of the vote.
He served as Minister of Environment, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board, Minister of Health and Wellness, and Minister of Gaelic Affairs, and in 2021, he was appointed Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
“Thank you Antigonish for your support over the past eight years,” Delorey wrote in a post on social media. “It’s been my pleasure to serve you.”
Moriag MacGillivray, representing the NDP in her second consecutive election, once again finished third in voting, after tallying 1,401 votes, a reduction of nearly 400 from what she received in 2017.
The Green Party’s candidate Will Fraser registered 121 votes, while the Atlantica Party’s Ryan Smyth recorded 29.
With an eligible voter pool in Antigonish increasing slightly to 14,599 and having 8,317 voters casting ballots in the 41st provincial election, which is 656 fewer casted votes, ENS is reporting a voter turnout for the riding of 57.2 per cent, which is down slightly from 62.1 per cent in 2017.