UPPER NAPPAN - Winning over Bill Casey's former supporters will be key to capturing Cumberland Colchester Musquodoboit Valley in the Nov. 9 byelection, says Conservative hopeful Scott Armstrong.
"The Conservatives had a third place finish (in the riding) in the last federal election and Bill Casey had more than 27,000 votes. In the last two elections before that, he had 21,000 in each," Armstrong said during Day 1 of his campaign after Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the byelection for the riding on Sunday.
Armstrong spent part of the morning and into the afternoon shaking hands and listening to staff, visitors and patients at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre.
"To win this seat, you have to make sure the people who supported Bill Casey feel comfortable supporting you."
Having been Casey's campaign manager for several elections, Armstrong is hopeful the support is there.
"I'll stand up for this riding and make sure we have strong representation in Ottawa."
While campaigning at the hospital, Armstrong said the biggest concern constituents had was the fact they were unaware a byelection had been called the day before.
Voters in the riding, as well as in three others in Canada, will head to the polls early next month.
Constituents, Armstrong said, are also confusing the byelection with a general federal election, which the Harper government has so far avoided.
Touring the hospital with Ann Keddy of the Cumberland Health Authority, Armstrong commented on how well the facility looked after having been open for seven years.
He also spoke about the health care system in the riding.
"I think Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley is very, very fortunate. We have several hospitals that have received huge infrastructure money," he said, pointing out the local facility and the one currently under construction in Truro, as well as the recent renovations to the Lillian Fraser in Tatamagouche.
"I think health care in this area is in very good shape due to a lot of those infrastructure dollars, because new buildings like this, of this quality, attract the best professionals. It will help us retain the best nurses we can. It will help us attract new doctors and better doctors to our area, and as our society is aging, that's going to be very important over the next two decades," he said.
Armstrong said one of the biggest roles of the federal health department is co-ordination between provinces, and uses an upcoming H1N1 flu crisis as an example.
"There's going to be a lot of work, particularly in border areas like Amherst, to make sure there's co-ordination between the New Brunswick government and the Nova Scotia government so we can serve the best interests of residents in both areas," he said.
"With the Amherst hospital being right on the border, we talked to some people here that have said there will be a lot of students if an outbreak hits Mount A who have to come down here and get service.
"I think that's one of the huge responsibilities the national health department has."
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
