Antigonish

Candidates

Current MLA: Angus MacIsaac (PC), deputy premier

District profile: The riding of Antigonish faces St. Georges Bay and includes the town and county of Antigonish, the Acadian community of Pomquet and the Mi'kmaq community of Afton.

The area bills itself as a good place to retire, with household incomes and education levels above the provincial average.

Antigonish is a college town, home to St. Francis Xavier University and the Coady International Institute. The town also acts as a retail and service centre for all of northeastern Nova Scotia.

In Antigonish County, lobster fishing, forestry and farming are major economic drivers. Tourism and the Sable Offshore Project provide a limited number of jobs.

District map: Antigonish (PDF)

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2006 results

Voter turnout: 67.14 per cent in 2006

Political history

For almost three decades, this was Liberal territory. Bill Gillis held the seat from 1970 to 1998, when Gillis retired and Hyland Fraser took up the Liberal banner.

But current MLA Angus MacIsaac ended that streak in 1999. Returning to politics after several years away, MacIsaac won by just a dozen votes to shift the district to Tory blue.

MacIsaac has held the seat ever since, serving in several cabinet roles in the provincial government.