CBC - Nova Scotia Votes 2003

DISTRICT: GLACE BAY

Candidate

Party

Vote Count

Pop. Vote

Dave Wilson

Liberal

4420

54.8%

Vince Hall

New Democrat

2339

29%

Mark Bettens

Conservative

1307

16.2%

Last Update Tue Aug 5 10:44:24 ADT 2003

46 of 46 polls reporting

GLACE BAY (23)

Candidates:

Liberal:	Dave Wilson
NDP:	Vince Hall
PC:	Mark Bettens

Current MLA: Dave Wilson (LIB)

Riding Profile: This riding was known as Cape Breton East until incumbent Dave Wilson successfully campaigned to have it renamed Glace Bay.

The new name accurately reflects the riding, which consists almost entirely of the town of Glace Bay.

The riding was once the coal centre of Cape Breton. Now, the former headquarters of the Cape Breton Development Corporation's coal division is home to the Stream International call centre. The former headquarters of the United Mine Workers was recently torn down during a facelift of Glace Bay's main street.

Issues: Jobs and car insurance top the list.

Some voters are happy with the government's recent education announcements (Glace Bay will get a new junior high school), and with a great deal of roadwork and downtown renovation in Glace Bay.

Others are more skeptical and say that, apart from the call centre, there has been little done to create jobs.

The unemployment rate hovers around 16 per cent. The average income is $20,340, and the population is 17,710 but steadily declining. Educational levels suggest about half the people in this riding have some post-secondary training and half have not completed high school.

Political History: The last election in this riding was a real cliffhanger: Liberal Dave Wilson beat NDP Cecil Sacchary by just five votes in 1999. The NDP challenged the results in court, resulting in a new election in April 2000 that Wilson won by 408 votes.

This time around, former broadcaster Wilson is again prepared for a close race. His NDP opponent is Vince Hall, an outspoken and colourful councillor for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

In 1999, the Tories garnered slightly more than 11 per cent of the popular vote.


1999:	LIB Dave Wilson defeated NDP Cecil Sacchary by 5 votes. PC Brad Kerr polled 1,043.
1998:	NDP Reeves Matheson defeated LIB Clarence Routledge by 2,143 votes. PC Henry Boutilier was third.
1993:	LIB John MacEachern defeated NDP Terry McVarish by nearly 6,000 votes.
1988:	PC Neil LeBlanc beat LIB Rick Murphy.

Voter Turnout: 80 per cent in 1999.

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