Hot-button issues, fresh faces driving interest in N.S. municipal elections, say candidates

A long list of names will greet some Nova Scotia voters at the ballot box Saturday in townswhere candidates say divisive issues and new political blood have stirred upunexpectedinterest in the municipalelection.

Sean Cameron, a longtimeAntigonishcouncillor who's running for mayor, said he's never seen this level of buzz around a municipal vote.

Only two of the 11 people running for the town's six council seats are incumbents. Nine people ran for council in the 2020 election.

"It's taking a lot longer to go door to door," said Cameron. "People are more engaged, they're buying in."

Hesaid the hotly debated issue of amalgamation withAntigonishCounty has been hangingheavilyover the campaign, with people asking "really informative questions" at the doorstep.

Municipal and county candidates have openly criticizedamalgamationon social media, even afterthe provincedecided against the move in April.

Cameron, who was opposed to the consolidation, is in an open race for mayor againstEmilieChiassonof theCoadyInstitute at St. Francis Xavier University.Chiassonhas spoken at Province House in favour of amalgamation, but said she now understands people felt betrayed by the process.

While she said there's certainly a "presence online" still talking about consolidation, there's another major issue rankling voters: the stench coming from the town's sewer plant.

Chiasson said she was inspired to run in this election after Mayor Laurie Boucher decided not to reoffer. Chiasson said change atboth the mayoraland council level is appealing to voters.

"It creates a lot of excitement and I think just a lot of general engagement because there's curiosity about it,versus being like, 'Oh, I know that person, they have already been a councillor,'" she said.

An hour's drive away inKentville, there are 14 people vying for six council seats, with only three incumbents. It's one of the largest slates of candidates across Nova Scotia. In 2020, nine people ran for Kentvilletown council.

Three others are running in the open race for mayor, with Mayor Sandra Snow notreoffering.

A few candidates have said they want to improve the atmosphere around the council table.There was plenty of infighting amongcouncil members this term, with Snow andCoun. AndrewZebian who's now running for mayorfiling code of conduct complaintsagainst one another multiple times.

There was also an active social media group that criticized council decisions and Snow personally, to the point where she said she was "screamed at on the street." Some members of that group are running for council.

"What you have is a lot of keyboard warriors that have gone after very specific issues," Snow said.

Controversy has spurred people to run before

She has seenthis kind of candidate spike before: when Snow was first elected as mayor in 2016, 14 people also ran for council amidst a controversy where somecouncillors were living in Florida for monthsand joining meetings remotely.

Rebecca Wallace, an assistant professor of political science at St. Francis Xavier University inAntigonish, said social media can be a double-edged sword when it comes to politics.

Online hate can discouragepeople from running, but residents can also become passionate about local issues through social media and get the courage to step forward.

"I think a lot of people were feeling more inclined to think like, 'Why shouldn't we have a voice heard? Why shouldn't we be at the table?'" Wallace said.

"There's some good energy that comes from having a lot of these new folks, you know, in the running ... it's having, I would say, a positive effect right now. That's my hope."

Wallace said more civil discussions about local issues, and candidate debates, are badly needed at the municipal levelrather than online arguments. Thesecouldhelp more people feel informed enough to run, or vote, she said.

Amherst, Halifax seeing high candidate numbers

Looking at other races with higher numbers, Amherst has 13 candidates, while the towns ofYarmouthand Oxford have 10 each. All of these municipalities have six council seats, and mayorraces taking place this year.

The Halifax Regional Municipality has the largest race in Nova Scotiawith16 people putting their namesforward for mayor afterMike Savage opted not to runfor the first time in 12 years.

Nine people are running for mayorof the Cape Breton Regional Municipality withMayor AmandaMcDougallnot reoffering.