I’m heading down to Calgary for the ALP convention this weekend so no updates until Sunday. Until then, I am pleased to present the first part of a 308 part series, Better Know a Riding. Today – Central Nova! The fighting Novas!
Central Nova is home to St. Francis Xavier University, and its neckless President Dr. Sean Riley (left). Their sports teams are the X-Men and X-Women, although instead of telepathy and flight, their super powers include winning the MacLeans school rankings and…I dunno…chemistry. Alumni include Brian Mulroney, Frank McKenna, and, I kid you not, Ronald MacDonald.
Which MP, described as “the closest thing to eye candy on the diplomatic circuit” by the New York Times has the stuff to lead this proud riding? Well, it’s none other than Peter MacKay. Today, I profile the battle royale between Mr. MacKay and Elizabeth May. [The Frog Lady has a good run down here as well]
First of all, here are the results from the last election:
Peter MacKay CPC 40.66%
Alexis MacDonald NDP 32.89%
Dan Walsh LIB 24.56%
David Orton GRN 1.59%
Allan H. Bezanson ML 0.29%
So all May has to do is increase the Green Party vote by 2600% to win the riding. There’s rampant speculation that the Liberals might not run a candidate which would be HUGE since, if you assume every single Liberal in the riding votes for May, that moves the Green Party all the way from fourth to third. One other thing which I think people are overlooking is that the Marxists-Lenninists might also not field a candidate this time as part of the “Stop MacKay” movement which might prove to be just the momentum boost she needs.
But numbers only tell part of the story so I’ve decided to compare the candidates on a few topics to see who comes out on top.
Famous Insults
MacKay: Calls Belinda Stronach a dog
May: Calls Canadians stupid
Edge: McKay. There are 100,000 Canadian voters May may have offended with her remarks. On the flip side, neither Belinda Stronach nor any dogs have votes in Central Nova.
How They Handle Losing
MacKay: Kicks chairs. Spends time with his dog.
May: We’ll find out soon enough
Edge: Probably May
Rumoured Secret Alliance
MacKay: Condi Rice
May: Liberal Party of Canada
Edge: Nobody does it better than the Republicans – edge MacKay
David vs. Goliath
MacKay: Become Tory leader by beating David Orchard
May: Become Green leader by beating David Chernushenko
Edge: Chernushenko seems slightly more stable than Orchard so May gets the edge here
Recent Gaffes 
MacKay: Confuses Halifax with Toronto at East Coast Music Awards
May: Decides to run in Central Nova
Edge: Toss-up
So, really, both candidates seem quite evenly matched. I’ll take MacKay by a nose (which, in his case, could mean quite a large margin of victory…).
