District Profiles

HALIFAX NEEDHAM (30)

Candidates:

Current MLA: Maureen MacDonald (NDP)

Riding Profile: This riding is home to the Halifax Dockyards, Fairview Cove Container Terminal, Northwood Manor and the Leeds St. campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. It also contains the original site of Africville, one of earliest black settlements in the province.

The riding contains a lot of public housing, apartments rented by students and thriving small businesses. There's a mix of seniors, families and young single people. The "north end," as it's known locally, is ethnically diverse, with stores and services on Gottinegn Street reflecting a variety of cultures, including MikMaq, African-Canadian, Middle Eastern and Nigerian.

In the 2003 redistribution, the riding added a corner of Halifax Citadel, the area between Cogswell Street in the north and Rainie Drive/Duke Street in the south.

Political History: It's former Liberal premier Gerald Regan's old seat; he held it from 1967 until the defeat of his Liberal government in 1978. The PCs held the riding through the 1980s. The NDP has held it since 1998. The 2003 race had the same three candidates who ran against each other in the previous provincial election.

Voter Turnout: 55 per cent in 2003.