Trade war, tariffs loom large in newly enlarged Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish riding

The newly expanded riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish is looking like a two-horse race between the Liberal and Conservative candidates, with some saying it could come down to which party leader is seen as the strongest to deal with the tough tariff talk coming from the United States.

Two of the candidates say there are local issues that need to be discussed, but that's not what they're hearing at the doorstep so far.

"I think more than any other election in our history, this one's going to be about who's going to be negotiating with Donald Trump," Liberal candidate Jaime Battiste said in an interview at his campaign office in Eskasoni First Nation.

"Almost every single door is talking about tariffs. Almost every single door is talking about our relationship with the United States ... People are scared about what this means to them."

Battiste said he's hearing from voters that this election comes down to whether Liberal Leader Mark Carney or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre can go up against the U.S. president.

The NDP's Joanna Clark said people are worried about affordability issues, but they are also talking about strategic voting.

Clark said some NDP supporters are telling her they plan to vote for Carney to try to keep Poilievre out as prime minister.

"That hurts a little bit, because I just want people to feel represented and not like they have to vote a certain way to preserve freedom," she said in an interview in the community of Mabou, Inverness County.

"When I hear people saying they're worried about affordability and groceries and where our government is headed, I feel like the NDP platform is actually a great platform to look to. But I think it's being overshadowed by the Liberal-Conservative narrative that we've just been hearing, that that's the only two parties that exist in this election and really, that's not the case."

Despite multiple requests from CBC News, Conservative Party of Canada candidate Allan MacMaster declined to be interviewed. A spokesman said MacMaster, the former provincial deputy premier and finance minister, was too busy on the road campaigning.

Although the final list could change when Elections Canada makes it official, Ryan Smyth is registered as the People's Party of Canada representative and Rebecca Wall is listed as an independent candidate. Meanwhile, the Green Party website says Bill Matheson is also running in Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.

Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak said Cape Bretoners usually vote for the candidate, but the trade war and tariffs are larger issues looming over the federal election.

"Cape Bretoners, like other Canadians, are clearly looking at the two people who are most likely to emerge as prime minister after this election, Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre ... and that will be a significant factor. So even if Cape Bretoners in some cases might be inclined to one candidate, or very inclined to one candidate, that could still be cancelled out by a preference for the party leader.

"In a way, it's become a referendum on which of these two leaders is best suited to navigate the Canadian vessel through the stormy waters."

Riding boundaries expanded

The riding boundaries were redrawn for this election to account for uneven population changes across the province.

The former riding of Cape Breton-Canso included the community of Glace Bay in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, plus the island counties of Richmond and Inverness and parts of Guysborough County on the mainland.

Now, the riding of Sydney-Glace Bay includes those urban communities, where the population has been growing, plus North Sydney and Sydney Mines.

Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish now starts just outside Glace Bay and runs down to Guysborough, then swings west to the town of Antigonish and north through all of Victoria County to the community of Meat Cove.

Campaigning a challenge

Battiste has supported an appeal to alter the riding boundaries to keep the Mi'kmaw communities of Eskasoni and Membertou together and had hoped to run in Sydney-Glace Bay.

But just before the election was called in March, the Liberal Party asked Battiste to run in his home community of Eskasoni.

Clark has run for the NDP twice provincially and is taking her first stab at the federal riding.

The mother of two lives in Port Hood, teaches in Mabou and occasionally works as a server in a couple of local restaurants.

Clark said she has done some door knocking, but said campaigning will be a challenge, partly because of the size of the riding and the long distances involved.

"I'm trying to work everything into my work schedule, but yeah, whenever I can have the opportunity to chat with people, it's been interesting," she said.

While voters are concerned about the effect of tariffs on the fishery, they are also concerned about affordability in general and internet connectivity, Clark said.

Battiste said the size of the new riding is changing how he campaigns.

He said in the first 10 days, he put 2,600 kilometres on his vehicle.

"It's going to be challenging door knocking," Battiste said. "It can't be the typical campaign of a lot of people on a lot of doors. It's a lot of driving. It's a lot of being visible at all kinds of different events."