Liberals Kelloway, Battiste announce they will run in new federal ridings in N.S.
Both initially eyed same seat of Sydney-Glace Bay after changes to current ridings
Liberal Mike Kelloway has announced he will be the party's candidate for the new federal riding of Sydney-Glace Bay, while another high-profile Liberal, Jaime Battiste, is going for the riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.
Kelloway, first elected as an MP in 2019, made his announcement in a social media post Saturday evening, saying he received confirmation from the Liberal Party and is ready for an election.
"I have to say to my team and myself were absolutely thrilled," he said in a video. "Let's keep up the fight for Cape Breton and Canada."
Both men were vying for the same seat of Sydney-Glace Bay after changes to their current ridings, but in the end Battiste decided to go in a different direction.
"My numbers were looking very strong in this riding and Mike Kelloway's numbers were looking very strong in the other riding. And so the whole point of this election is to get a strong mandate for Mark Carney," Battiste said.
Battiste was elected as Canada's first Mi'kmaw MP in 2019 and was also in the race to become the new Liberal leader, before dropping out in the campaign that Carney ended up winning.
"It helped me increase my profile, not just in my riding, but all across the Atlantic [region] and in a lot of ways all across Canada," Battiste said.
Part of the riding where he is running encompasses the area where Sean Fraser has been MP. Battiste said Fraser is helping his election bid now that he is not standing for election himself.
Ballot takes shape
Battiste will be up against former Nova Scotia cabinet minister Allan MacMaster, who is running for the Conservatives.
Judith Clifford is listed as the candidate for the People's Party of Canada on its website.
Lawyer Anna Manley has announced a run in Sydney-Glace Bay for the Conservatives. Jeffrey Evely is listed as the People's Party of Canada candidate for the riding. The Libertarian Party of Canada has Michael Pittman as its candidate.
It does not appear that the NDP or the Greens have chosen candidates for either riding.
The Sydney-Glace Bay riding has more than 82,000 people. There is a population of about 75,000 in Cape Breton-Antigonish-Canso.
The federal election is set for April 28.