HALIFAX – There will be no Atlantica Party candidate in Cumberland South on June 19.
When the nominations closed earlier this week there was no candidate for the party.
The party issued a statement on its website Thursday explaining that its intended candidate, Bill Archer, has gone to work overseas for the last three weeks of the election.
“We believe that it would be unfair to the residents of Cumberland County to run a candidate that would be out of the riding for those crucial weeks of the campaign,” the party’s executive said in a statement on its website. “The party considered several different options to address this unforeseen circumstance.”
Ultimately, it was decided the party would sit out the byelection and continue to build its volunteer base and profile province-wide.
“While this is disappointing, we cannot in good faith participate. This would be unfair to the people who we would represent,” the party said. “While we won’t be participating, we hope that this by-election stimulates discussion, and that the best ideas win.”
In last year’s provincial election, Atlantica candidate Thor Lengies finished a distant fourth behind PC leader Jamie Baillie garnering 154 votes.
Archer, who was slated to run this time, ran in Cumberland North and picked up just 84 votes.
Last November, the party announced it was moving its headquarters to Springhill.
The party, founded in 2005, ran 15 candidates in last year’s provincial vote that elected Liberal Stephen McNeil to his second consecutive majority government.
darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
