Preston

Candidates

Current MLA: Keith Colwell (LIB)

District profile: This district, which takes in areas of suburban affluence and rural poverty, was created in 1993 to give black Nova Scotians a better chance of representation in the legislature. It was created from parts of Halifax Eastern Shore and the Cole Harbour area of Dartmouth.

About one third of the district's residents are black. It includes historically important black communities at North Preston, East Preston and Cherrybrook.

Many people in this riding work in Metro Halifax in the trade and service sectors.

District map: Preston (PDF)

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2006 results

Voter turnout: 60.63 per cent in 2006

Political history

NDP Yvonne Atwell made political history in Nova Scotia when she became the first black woman to be elected to the provincial legislature in 1998. All three parties have held power here in the past two decades.

This has always been a difficult race to predict. In 2003, the margins became even tighter as the top three contenders finished within 80 votes of each other.

However, Liberal incumbent Keith Colwell – who won by just 50 votes in 2003 – widened his margin of victory to 233 votes when he was re-elected last time around.