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Published on: 8/18/2008
Last Visited: 8/21/2008
Before her, Alexis MacDonald, 31, who ran twice unsuccessfully in the riding of Central Nova against incumbent Defence Minister Peter MacKay, publicly declared to seek NDP nomination.
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Ms. MacDonald, who is currently serving as a senior policy adviser with the Stephen Lewis foundation, agreed."When an incumbent sits down, all parties jockey to take the seat.I certainly feel confident that the NDP will keep the seat regardless of the candidate."
Ms. MacDonald said that she switched to the Halifax riding because she moved and now resides there.In the last two elections, she lived in Antigonish, N.S., and for that reason, ran against Mr. MacKay.
"I have been living in Halifax [for about a year and a half].I've decided to run where I'm living and I really identify with Halifax.I have family here in Halifax.My brother for instance is studying at Dalhousie Medical [School]," said Ms. MacDonald.
Ms. MacDonald is well known within NDP circles and Nova Scotia for running an impressive campaign in the last federal election against Defence Minister Peter MacKay, where she lost by a margin of 7.8 per cent of the vote.In that election, the Defence minister won 17,134 or 40 per cent of the vote, compared to Ms. MacDonald, who won 13,861 or 32.89 per cent of the vote.
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In the 2004 federal election, Ms. MacDonald lost to Mr. MacKay by a margin of 15 per cent of the vote.
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"I'll be emphasizing my strengths, that I'm an experienced candidate having gone through this very successfully the last two times, that I have a huge amount of leadership experience with senior management positions, working both globally and locally with strong connections in community development work, which I think is really important to Halifax and to New Democrats in particular as I go for the nomination," Ms. MacDonald said.