Canadian election 2015: Sydney-Victoria and what's at stake

The last time voters went to the polls for a federal election in 2011, Mark Eyking had a fight on his hands.

The Liberal, who was first elected in 2000 and won every election since, was up against a high-profile Conservative former provincial cabinet minister Cecil Clarke.

Clarke held several prominent portfolios in the Hamm and MacDonald governments, including energy and justice, and also served as Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Eyking ended up capturing 40 per cent of the votes, while Clarke took in nearly 38 per cent.

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"Cecil gave him a race," said David Johnson, a political science professor at Cape Breton University.

This time, the Conservatives have nominated John Douglas Chaisson, a political staffer to federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea.

'Mountain to climb'

Johnson says Sydney-Victoria and Cape Breton-Canso are two ridings that are the Liberals' to lose.

"The Conservatives, New Democrats have got a mountain to climb," he said.

The Greens have nominated primary school teacher Adrianna MacKinnon and on Sept. 3, the New Democrats announced local physician Monika Dutt would be their candidate.

Wayne Hiscock is running for the Libertarian Party.

Johnson said one of the big issues in the riding has been cutbacks to veterans' services. As part of the March 2012 budget, the federal government announced it would be closing nine district offices, including the one in Sydney.

That led to numerous protests, including one in November 2013 that drew more than 3,000 people. A postcard campaign to the prime minister was also launched, but the office closed its doors in January 2014.

'There's a lot of real anger'

Seasonal work is common in the riding, and Johnson said the changes to the employment insurance rules have also been unpopular.

According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate on Cape Breton Island as of July 2015 was around 14 per cent.

"There's a lot of real anger against the Conservative government," Johnson said.

Sydney is the largest community in the riding, which also includes North Sydney, Sydney Mines and New Waterford. The Mi'kmaq reserves of Membertou, Eskasoni and Wagmatcook are also within its boundaries.

The area has a history of long serving MPs. Progressive Conservative Robert Muir was in office from 1957 to 1974 and Liberal Russell MacLellan was the member from 1979 to 1997.

Johnson said it's very likely that tradition will continue in Eyking's favour come Oct. 19.