INVERNESS (34)

Candidates:

Liberal: Debbie Gillis NDP: Tim Murphy PC: Rodney MacDonald

Current MLA: Rodney MacDonald (PC), Minister of Tourism

Riding Profile:
This is the biggest riding in Cape Breton. It's largely rural and wooded, and includes all of Inverness County and the Whycocomagh Reserve. The riding stretches from Port Hawkesbury at the Canso Causeway in the south, all the way up the western side of the Island to Meat Cove at the northern tip.

The main population centres are Port Hood and Port Hawkesbury (which used to be part of Guysborough prior to the boundary change), as well as the village of Inverness.

The service sector employs the most people, while fishing, forestry and tourism are the mainstays of the economy.

The riding is home to the Inverness Miners Museum and the Margaree Salmon Museum.

A declining population and access to health services are big issues in the rural part of this riding. In the urban areas at the Strait, roadwork and a new civic center have been recently announced for Port Hawkesbury. School upgrades have also been promised.

The total population is 20,680 and the average income is $23,340. About 60 per cent of people in this riding have a high-school education or some post-secondary training. Unemployment runs about 16 per cent.

Political History: The riding was created in 1993 from most of Inverness North and Inverness South. PC Billy Joe MacLean, the current mayor of Port Hawkesbury, held the southern part during much of the 1980s. Liberal John Archie MacKenzie held the northern part of the county for many years.

In the last election, 27-year-old Rodney MacDonald, a professional fiddler and high-school teacher, won the seat for the Tories.

1999: PC Rodney MacDonald received 3,876 votes to defeat LIB Charles MacDonald who polled 3,549 and NDP Roy Yipp, who got 1,612. 1998: LIB Charles MacDonald defeated NDP Maria Coady by 2,100 votes. PC Randy MacDonald took 1,951. 1993: LIB Charles MacArthur received 60 per cent of the popular vote to PC Frank Crowdis' 30 per cent. NDP Mary Goodwin came third.

Voter Turnout: 78 per cent in 1999.