Dartmouth--Cole Harbour

The riding of Dartmouth--Cole Harbour sits on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, directly across from downtown Halifax within the Halifax Regional Municipality. Covering approximately 90 square kilometres, it takes in much of the city of Dartmouth — including the neighbourhoods of Woodside, Imperoyal, and the areas around the Dartmouth Lakes — as well as the suburban community of Cole Harbour to the southeast. The riding is connected to peninsular Halifax by the Angus L. Macdonald and A. Murray MacKay bridges.

Candidates

Robert Chisholm (NDP) — A veteran of Nova Scotia provincial politics, Chisholm served as MLA for Halifax Atlantic from 1991 to 2003 and led the Nova Scotia NDP from 1996 to 2000. Under his leadership, the party won a record 19 seats in the 1998 provincial election and formed the Official Opposition for the first time in its history. After leaving provincial politics, he worked as a researcher and then Atlantic regional director for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He announced his federal candidacy in January 2011, bringing significant political experience and organizational capacity to the race.

Mike Savage (Liberal) — The incumbent MP, first elected in 2004 and seeking his fourth term. Savage spent twenty years in business in Halifax before entering politics. His father, John Savage, served as mayor of Dartmouth from 1985 to 1992 and as premier of Nova Scotia from 1993 to 1997, giving the Savage name deep roots in the Dartmouth community.

Wanda Webber (Conservative) — Webber carried the Conservative banner in Dartmouth--Cole Harbour, competing in a riding where the party had historically finished third behind the Liberals and NDP.

Paul Shreenan (Green Party) — Shreenan represented the Green Party in the riding.

About the Riding

Dartmouth--Cole Harbour is a predominantly urban and suburban riding within the Halifax metropolitan area. The Woodside area along the harbour is home to Irving Shipbuilding's Woodside Industries facility, part of the company's Halifax-area shipyard operations. The Imperial Oil refinery in Dartmouth, which processed roughly 89,000 barrels per day, was one of the area's major industrial employers in 2011. The harbour waterfront also supports various marine and transportation-related businesses.

Cole Harbour, at the riding's southeastern end, is a largely suburban residential community that grew rapidly in the latter decades of the twentieth century. The riding's population mix includes established working-class Dartmouth neighbourhoods, middle-class suburban developments, and pockets of public housing. Health care and education are significant employers, and many residents commute across the harbour to work in downtown Halifax or at other facilities across the regional municipality.

The riding had been held by the Liberals since its creation in 2004, but the NDP's strength in the Halifax area — reinforced by the party holding provincial government in Nova Scotia under Premier Darrell Dexter — made Dartmouth--Cole Harbour one of the most competitive races in Atlantic Canada heading into 2011.