South Shore—St. Margarets

South Shore—St. Margarets follows Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coastline from the western suburbs of the Halifax Regional Municipality near St. Margarets Bay down through the counties of Lunenburg, Queens, and Shelburne. The riding takes in tourist destinations, working fishing ports, and dozens of small coastal villages strung along the province’s southern shore.

Candidates

Bernadette Jordan (Liberal) — A lifelong South Shore resident, Jordan held a political science degree from St. Francis Xavier University. Before entering politics, she worked as a development officer for the Health Services Foundation in Bridgewater, helping raise millions for regional health care. Elected in 2015 by the largest margin in the riding’s history, she was appointed Minister of Rural Economic Development in January 2019 during a cabinet shuffle, making her the only Nova Scotian in the federal cabinet at the time.

Rick Perkins (Conservative) — A St. Margarets Bay area businessman, Perkins held an MBA from Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business. He had worked on political staff during the Mulroney government and later co-founded the investor relations firm Genoa Management. During the campaign, he identified fisheries management as a leading concern among riding residents.

Jessika Hepburn (NDP) — Hepburn ran a campaign focused on housing affordability, arguing that too many South Shore residents were paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent or were unable to find suitable housing.

Thomas Trappenberg (Green Party) — Trappenberg was a computer scientist at Dalhousie University whose research spanned computational neuroscience and machine learning. He held a PhD in physics and had served as leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia.

Other candidates included Robert Monk (People’s Party), Steven Foster (Independent), Shawn McMahon (Independent), Jason Matthews (Veterans Coalition Party), and Kevin Schulthies (Christian Heritage Party).

About the Riding

The lobster fishery is the economic foundation of the South Shore, with Lunenburg, Shelburne, and numerous smaller ports supporting commercial fleets. Lunenburg’s waterfront, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, anchors both the fishing industry and a tourism economy that draws visitors year-round. Clearwater Seafoods maintained significant operations in the region. Bridgewater, the riding’s largest town with a population of roughly 8,500, serves as the retail and services hub for surrounding communities. Tourism is vital across the riding, from the iconic Peggy’s Cove lighthouse to Oak Island and the Kejimkujik National Park Seaside area. The seasonal nature of fishing, tourism, and forestry employment made employment insurance policy a persistent concern. Heading into 2019, rural health care access, broadband connectivity, and infrastructure investment for aging communities were prominent issues. The riding had been held by Conservatives from 1997 to 2015 before Jordan’s breakthrough victory.