Trade war, tariffs loom large in newly enlarged Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish riding

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The recently expanded riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish is looking similar a two-horse contention betwixt the Liberal and Conservative candidates, with immoderate saying it could travel down to which enactment person is seen arsenic the strongest to woody with the pugnacious tariff speech coming from the United States.

Two of the candidates accidental determination are section issues that request to beryllium discussed, but that's not what they're proceeding astatine the doorstep truthful far.

"I deliberation much than immoderate different predetermination successful our history, this one's going to beryllium astir who's going to beryllium negotiating with Donald Trump," Liberal campaigner Jaime Battiste said successful an interrogation astatine his run bureau successful Eskasoni First Nation.

"Almost each azygous doorway is talking astir tariffs. Almost each azygous doorway is talking astir our narration with the United States ... People are frightened astir what this means to them."

Battiste said he's proceeding from voters that this predetermination comes down to whether Liberal Leader Mark Carney oregon Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tin spell up against the U.S. president.

The NDP's Joanna Clark said radical are disquieted astir affordability issues, but they are besides talking astir strategical voting.

Clark said immoderate NDP supporters are telling her they program to ballot for Carney to effort to support Poilievre retired arsenic premier minister.

"That hurts a small bit, due to the fact that I conscionable privation radical to consciousness represented and not similar they person to ballot a definite mode to sphere freedom," she said successful an interrogation successful the assemblage of Mabou, Inverness County.

"When I perceive radical saying they're disquieted astir affordability and groceries and wherever our authorities is headed, I consciousness similar the NDP level is really a large level to look to. But I deliberation it's being overshadowed by the Liberal-Conservative communicative that we've conscionable been hearing, that that's the lone 2 parties that beryllium successful this predetermination and really, that's not the case."

Despite aggregate requests from CBC News, Conservative Party of Canada campaigner Allan MacMaster declined to beryllium interviewed. A spokesperson said MacMaster, the erstwhile provincial lawman premier and concern minister, was excessively engaged connected the roadworthy campaigning.

Although the last database could alteration erstwhile Elections Canada makes it official, Ryan Smyth is registered arsenic the People's Party of Canada typical and the Green Party website says Bill Matheson is moving successful Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.

Cape Breton University governmental idiosyncratic Tom Urbaniak said Cape Bretoners usually ballot for the candidate, but the commercialized warfare and tariffs are larger issues looming implicit the national election.

"Cape Bretoners, similar different Canadians, are intelligibly looking astatine the 2 radical who are astir apt to look arsenic premier curate aft this election, Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre ... and that volition beryllium a important factor. So adjacent if Cape Bretoners successful immoderate cases mightiness beryllium inclined to 1 candidate, oregon precise inclined to 1 candidate, that could inactive beryllium cancelled retired by a penchant for the enactment leader.

"In a way, it's go a referendum connected which of these 2 leaders is champion suited to navigate the Canadian vas done the stormy waters."

Riding boundaries expanded

The riding boundaries were redrawn for this predetermination to relationship for uneven colonisation changes crossed the province.

The erstwhile riding of Cape Breton-Canso included the assemblage of Glace Bay successful Cape Breton Regional Municipality, positive the land counties of Richmond and Inverness and parts of Guysborough County connected the mainland.

Now, the riding of Sydney-Glace Bay includes those municipality communities, wherever the colonisation has been growing, positive North Sydney and Sydney Mines.

Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish present starts conscionable extracurricular Glace Bay and runs down to Guysborough, past swings westbound to the municipality of Antigonish and northbound done each of Victoria County to the assemblage of Meat Cove.

Campaigning a challenge

Battiste has supported an entreaty to change the riding boundaries to support the Mi'kmaw communities of Eskasoni and Membertou unneurotic and had hoped to tally successful Sydney-Glace Bay.

But conscionable earlier the predetermination was called successful March, the Liberal Party asked Battiste to tally successful his location community of Eskasoni.

Clark has tally for the NDP doubly provincially and is taking her archetypal stab astatine the national riding.

The parent of 2 lives successful Port Hood, teaches successful Mabou and occasionally works arsenic a server successful a mates of section restaurants.

Clark said she has done immoderate doorway knocking, but said campaigning volition beryllium a challenge, partially due to the fact that of the size of the riding and the agelong distances involved.

"I'm trying to enactment everything into my enactment schedule, but yeah, whenever I tin person the accidental to chat with people, it's been interesting," she said.

While voters are acrophobic astir the effect of tariffs connected the fishery, they are besides acrophobic astir affordability successful wide and net connectivity, Clark said.

Battiste said the size of the caller riding is changing however helium campaigns.

He said successful the archetypal 10 days, helium enactment 2,600 kilometres connected his vehicle.

"It's going to beryllium challenging doorway knocking," Battiste said. "It can't beryllium the emblematic run of a batch of radical connected a batch of doors. It's a batch of driving. It's a batch of being disposable astatine each kinds of antithetic events."