GUYSBOROUGH-TRACADIE: A long-time broadcaster has defeated a veteran politician in Guysborough-Tracadie to represent the riding as the next Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Halifax.
Getting a taste of success early and often across the riding’s 27 polls, Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate Greg Morrow received 3,281 votes, totaling 63.4 per cent of the overall vote in which 5,176 votes were cast.
“Thank you Guysborough-Tracadie!” Morrow said in a Facebook post following his victory. “I am truly humbled to be elected as your next MLA!”
The political newcomer defeated Liberal incumbent Lloyd Hines, who is a long-time politician.
Hines, who only registered 1,571 votes was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly as MLA for Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017, where he narrowly beat the then PC candidate by only 71 votes.
He served as Minister of Natural Resources and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, and in 2021, he became the first Minister of Transportation and Active Transit. Prior to his time in provincial politics, Hines served at the warden for the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG).
After electoral boundary lines were re-drawn in 2019 and the riding reduced in size from 10,189 eligible voters in 2017 to 7,767 voters today, despite having the total number of votes cast be 841 less, the percentage of the voter turnout increased 13 percentage points to 66.81 per cent.
Rounding out the remaining votes NDP candidate Matt Stickland received 247, while the Green party candidate, Gabriel Bruce only managed to tally 77.
The Tories, with Tim Houston as premier will return to power for the first time since 2009 and deny the Liberals a chance to form a third consecutive government.