District Profiles

GLACE BAY (23)

Candidates:

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 1999 election in this riding was a real cliffhanger: Liberal Dave Wilson beat NDP Cecil Sacchary by just five votes. The NDP challenged the results in court, resulting in a byelection in April 2000 that Wilson won by 408 votes. In 2003, Wilson held on to the riding, winning by 2,078 votes.

Voter Turnout: 63 per cent in 2003.