QUEENS (44)

Candidates:

Current MLA: Kerry Morash (PC)

Riding Profile: Queens includes the town of Liverpool and large rural areas in both Queens and Lunenburg County. This riding kept all of Queens County (88 per cent) and added a piece of Lunenburg West (12 per cent) in the boundary redistribution last year.

The Hank Snow Country Music Centre and the wilderness beauty of the Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct draw visitors from around the world. There's also a vibrant local theatre group.

Fishing and forestry are still important to the local economy. Bowater Mersey pulp and paper is the largest employer in the area. Mersey Seafoods and Steel and Engine Products in Liverpool also provide jobs in the manufacturing sector.

A call centre was announced but has yet to open its doors in the area. Unemployment hovers around 11 per cent. The population is 13,750 and the average income is $22,610. Nearly half the people in this riding haven't finished high school; seven per cent have university degrees.

Issues: The big issues here are jobs and roads. Pocketbook issues such as car insurance are important, too. Voters are also concerned about finding family doctors to replace those who are retiring, and the centralization of services in Halifax.

Political History: Queens has voted Progressive Conservative for 50 years. That says it all.

 

1999: PC Kerry Morash defeated NDP John Wiles by 1,949 votes. 1998: PC John Leefe defeated LIB Terry Doucette by 1,510 votes. 1993: PC John Leefe defeated LIB Marilyn Large by 263 votes. 1988: PC John Leefe defeated LIB David Randall by 1,871 votes.

Voter Turnout: 69 per cent in 1999.