Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook

Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook wraps around the eastern and northern margins of the Halifax Regional Municipality, combining the suburban sprawl of Lower Sackville and Beaver Bank with the Acadian coastal settlements of Chezzetcook and the historically Black community of Preston. The riding also stretches along the Eastern Shore toward communities like Lake Echo, Porters Lake, and Eastern Passage.

Candidates

Darrell Samson (Liberal) — Born in Petit-de-Grat on Isle Madame, Samson was an Acadian educator who had spent his career in Nova Scotia's French-language school system. He held a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education from the Université de Moncton. Before entering politics, he served as superintendent of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, the province's only French-language school board. The 2015 campaign was his first foray into electoral politics.

Peter Stoffer (NDP) — Stoffer had held the riding (under its previous names) since 1997, making him one of the longest-serving NDP members in Atlantic Canada. Born in Heerlen, the Netherlands, he emigrated to Canada as an infant. Before entering Parliament, he worked as a customer service agent for Canadian Airlines and was an active union member. In Ottawa, he became the NDP's critic for Veterans Affairs and Fisheries, earning recognition as Parliamentarian of the Year in 2013 by his fellow MPs in a survey conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Maclean's. He was also invested as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau by the King of the Netherlands in May 2015.

Robert Thomas Strickland (Conservative) — Strickland carried the Conservative banner in a riding where the party had limited historical support, competing in what was widely seen as a two-way contest between Samson and Stoffer.

Mike Montgomery (Green Party) — Montgomery represented the Green Party, adding an environmental policy voice to the local debate.

About the Riding

Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook is one of the most culturally diverse ridings in Nova Scotia. The community of East Preston is one of the oldest Black settlements in Canada, with roots tracing back to the late eighteenth century. Chezzetcook is home to an Acadian heritage community that has maintained its French-speaking traditions for generations. Lower Sackville, the riding's population centre, experienced rapid suburban growth in the decades before 2015 and relied heavily on commuter access to Halifax. The riding also had one of the highest concentrations of veterans per capita in the country, a fact that made Stoffer's long advocacy for veterans' services a particularly resonant local issue. Federal concerns in 2015 included suburban infrastructure, commuter transportation, employment insurance reform for seasonal workers along the Eastern Shore, and support for military families connected to CFB Halifax and CFB Shearwater.