Central Nova

Central Nova covers Pictou County and extends eastward through the District of St. Mary's in Guysborough County, then south into the eastern reaches of Halifax Regional Municipality, picking up communities such as Lawrencetown, Porters Lake, and Chezzetcook following the 2022 redistribution. The riding lost Antigonish County to the newly expanded Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, but gained suburban and semi-rural Halifax communities, creating a constituency that bridges small-town industrial Nova Scotia with the eastern commuter belt of the provincial capital.

The towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Westville, Trenton, and Pictou form the urban core of the riding in Pictou County, while the eastern Halifax communities and the coastal stretch through Sheet Harbour and the District of St. Mary's provide a contrasting rural and suburban character.

Candidates

Sean Fraser (Liberal) is a lawyer from Merigomish who was first elected in Central Nova in 2015. He served as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from 2021 to 2023 and then as Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities until 2024. Fraser initially announced his retirement from politics but reversed course in March 2025 after a conversation with new Liberal leader Mark Carney.

Brycen Jenkins (Conservative) is a Pictou County native who worked as a certified welding inspector and NDT technician across Canada before transitioning to a career in real estate. A first-time candidate, Jenkins is active as a volunteer firefighter and community volunteer with the Kinsmen Club and the New Glasgow business advisory committee.

Jesiah MacDonald (NDP) is a New Glasgow resident who works as a janitor and is a former bakery owner. He has volunteered for over 15 years in LGBTQ advocacy, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Pictou County Centre for Sexual Health.

Gerald Romsa (Green Party) ran as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

Charlie MacEachern (People's Party) ran as the PPC candidate in the riding.

Alexander MacKenzie (Independent) ran as an independent candidate.

About the Riding

Pictou County's economy has been shaped by its industrial heritage in steel, coal, and pulp and paper. The closure of the Northern Pulp mill in 2020, ordered by the provincial government after decades of environmental concerns over effluent treatment at Boat Harbour near Pictou Landing First Nation, left a significant gap in the forestry sector and local employment. By 2025, Northern Pulp had confirmed it would not build a new mill and began selling off its substantial timberland holdings, leaving unresolved questions about site remediation and the future of the forestry supply chain.

The Pictou County towns have also grappled with the familiar Atlantic Canadian challenges of outmigration and an aging population, though the area's proximity to Halifax has made it increasingly attractive to commuters and remote workers. The communities added through redistribution in eastern Halifax County bring a different set of concerns, including suburban growth pressures and transportation infrastructure.

Affordability, healthcare access, and the economic fallout from U.S. trade tensions were prominent issues in the 2025 campaign. The riding's mix of industrial towns, fishing communities, and suburban areas gave it a cross-section of the concerns facing Nova Scotia as a whole.