Atlantica Party offers new voice to N.S. voters

Nova Scotia has a new officially recognized political party, and its president says it intends to run a candidate in every riding at the next provincial election.

The Atlantica Party's Jonathan Dean said the new entity will run on a platform promoting fiscally conservative policies and electoral reform.

"It's refreshing to see how much hunger there is actually out there for reform and how dispirited the typical Nova Scotia voter is," Dean said Wednesday.

"They just don't know which way to turn any more and so if nothing else, that fired us more, telling us we really do need some kind of reform, that something has to happen here in Nova Scotia and that's why we formed this party."

Atlantica, whichsays it's"Nova Scotia's only reforming party," was approved by Elections Nova Scotia on Monday.

According to its website, Atlanticaparty.ca, it was founded four years ago by a group of "unaffiliated citizens."

The party is notlinkedto the proposed Atlantica free-trade zone that would connect Canadian provinces and U.S. states on the eastern seaboard.

It describes itself as having a regional, Nova Scotian outlook, but plans to eventually run candidates in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Looks to develop unity

The party is open to becoming a regionally based federal party in the future and is looking at developing greater unity among Canada's east coast provinces.

"One of the things we are interested in, and would like to have a discussion on, is some sort of union among our four small, puny Atlantic provinces,"Dean said.

"Whether that's an economic integration, a free-market pooling of procurement services or full-blown political unity at some point in the future, that's another topic we're willing to discuss."

Atlantica's first chance to campaign could come in the vacant Yarmouth riding.

Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Hurlburt resigned the seat in February but a byelection date has not been announced.

Dean ran as an Independent in the 2009 election, finishing fourth in the Halifax Clayton Park riding with 0.5 per cent of the vote. Liberal Diana Whalen won that seat.

According to Dean's biography on the party website, the 46-year-old was born to a Nova Scotian family in Australia and grew up in West Gore, Hants County, and in Halifax.

He said he owns Occam Research & Trading Ltd, and investment research firm, and lives with his wife in Bedford.