Hants West

Candidates

Current MLA: Chuck Porter (PC)

District profile: Hants West includes the towns of Windsor and Hantsport. The northern part of Hants County borders the Minas Basin and it includes a largely rural agricultural area from Brooklyn in the east to Upper Falmouth in the west.

Many local jobs are in the services sector, while a minority are in resource-based industries.

The region is fast becoming a bedroom community of Halifax, 30 minutes away.

District map: Hants West (PDF)

Acrobat Reader required - download free. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Discuss what's on your mind

CBCNews.ca has created 52 blogs - one for each district in Nova Scotia. Post your comments on what's happening in your local race, what the hot issues are, what candidates are saying, and what you think will determine the outcome of the election in your riding. All contributions are moderated for decorum and relevance. Posts will not appear immediately.

2006 results

Voter turnout: 61.36 per cent in 2006

Political history

Hants West has traditionally voted Progressive Conservative, sending a Liberal to the legislature only three times since 1948.

RCAF veteran fighter pilot Ron Russell first won this seat for the PCs in 1978 and was re-elected eight times before retiring in advance of the 2006 campaign.

But the PCs had a mighty scare in that last election. The Liberals came within 45 votes of toppling Chuck Porter, who held on to keep the district Tory blue.