10 crucial ridings to watch on Nova Scotia election night

With less than a week to go until Nova Scotians head to the polls, the latest projections show the Liberals teetering on the edge of a majority government.

The following 10 ridings, as selected by CBC Nova Scotia's team of election reporters, will play a criticalrole in determining the outcome of the May 30 election.

• Find all of CBC Nova Scotia's election coverage here

Clayton Park West

This electoral district formed after the 2012 electoral boundary review is one of only fourwhere an incumbent is not running, along with Dartmouth East, Dartmouth Southand Queens-Shelburne. It is widely considered one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Nova Scotia.

The seat has been held for the past four years by Liberal Diana Whalen, who's held multiple cabinet roles under Stephen McNeil, including deputy premier. From 2003 to 2013, Whalen represented Halifax Clayton Park, which was largely swallowed up in the creation of Clayton Park West.

Whalen announced earlier this year she would not be running in order to have more balance in her life after a health scare. In her place the Liberals are running RafahDiCostanzo. The Progressive Conservatives are putting forward Paul Kimball andthe New Democrats are running RanaZaman.

There are two party leaders running in this race:Jonathan G. Dean for the Atlantica Party and Thomas Trappenberg for the Greens. In fact, Trappenberg is specifically running here because there's no incumbent. He's hoping the success of Green party leaders recently winning seats in N.B. and P.E.I. spills over to here.

Chester-St. Margaret's

New Democrat Denise Peterson-Rafuse is looking to hold on to her seat one of only five the NDP had going into the election but the Progressive Conservatives have their eyes on it. Tory Leader Jamie Baillie has made at least four visits to the riding with candidate Julie Chaisson, making it among his most popular stops on the campaign trail. Between 1998 and 2009, the riding was held by the PCs.

Also in the race are Liberal Hugh MacKay and the Green Party's Harry Ward.

Dartmouth East

Independent MLA Andrew Younger, who most recently held the district, is not reoffering. His abrupt decision to withdraw as a candidate for personal reasons has thrown Dartmouth East upside down and wide open.

This is also the electoral district where the New Democrats dropped candidate Bill McEwen when inappropriate social media comments became public. That happenedafter the nomination deadline had passed, so McEwen's name will be on the ballot.

• What's at stake in Dartmouth East? Read our riding profile

Halifax Armdale

This electoral district will be interesting to watch because of two high-profile candidates: Liberal LenaDiab and New Democrat David Wheeler.Diab isminister of immigration in Stephen McNeil's cabinet,while Wheeler previously served aspresident of Cape Breton University. Hewas dismissed by the university's boardlate last year amid allegations he was too friendly with the faculty union.

Halifax Chebucto

The big question in this district is whether NDP Leader Gary Burrill can take it from incumbent Liberal Joachim Stroink and fend off Progressive Conservative candidate John Wesley Chisholm. Burrill was elected in 2009 in Colchester-Musquodoboit Valleybut lost in 2013 and has since uprooted to Halifax Chebucto.

The recent history here is favourable for the New Democrats. Halifax Chebucto elected Howard Epstein a longtime New Democrat five times and went Liberal only after Epstein declined to reoffer in 2013. Epstein is now Burrill's official campaign agent.

Hammonds Plains-Lucasville

This suburban electoral district was part of a near sweep of metro Halifax by theLiberals in the last provincial election.

But now, incumbent Liberal backbencher Ben Jessome has an austerity government to defend as he tries to hang on against municipal councillorMatt Whitman, who is running for the Tories.Also vying for the seat are Paul McGuinness,the leader of a local ratepayers association running for the NDP, and Greendeputyleader Jessica Alexander.

• What's at stake in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville? Read our riding profile

Hants West

This central Nova Scotia district is traditionally Progressive Conservative, and has gone Liberal only three times since 1948. That makes incumbent Chuck Porter an especially interesting candidate, as a former Tory who left the PC caucus in June 2014 after an argument with leader Jamie Baillie.

Porter sat as an Independent in the immediate aftermath beforejoiningthe Liberal caucus last year. He's defeated Liberal candidates in the last three provincial elections, and now he's running as one of them.

Sydney-Whitney Pier

This Cape Breton electoral district may also serve as an indicator of the Liberals' strength by looking at how well their backbenchers perform.

Incumbent Derek Mombourquette was elected in a 2015 byelection to replace Gordie Gosse, a popular New Democrat MLA who resigned after he was diagnosed with cancer. Mombourquette is up against Laurie MacIntosh for the Tories and Madonna Doucette for the New Democrats.

The NDP see this as a seat it can win, as evidenced by Gary Burrill's numerous visits to the riding and the party regularly using Doucette's name in media releases.

Cape Breton is friendly territory for unions and the Liberals' legislation that was viewed as anti-union could factor here.

Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River

This district is the only one held by the New Democrats in central Nova Scotia, and is surrounded by a sea of red and blue seats. Incumbent Lenore Zann has won with comfortable margins in each of the last two elections in what had previously been Tory territory. Between 1978 and 2009, the riding voted PC on all but one occasion whenin 1978a Liberal was elected.

She faces a strong challenge from Tory candidate Keltie Jones, who narrowly lost the race for Truro mayor in the last two municipal elections. The Liberals are hanging their hopes on newcomer Craig Johnson.

Queens-Shelburne

This electoral district is up for grabs after longtime New Democrat MLA Sterling Belliveau announced last year he would not seek re-election.

It may be one of the most difficult districts to predict, in part because it is the product of a merger of two older districts.

The Tories are running Kim Masland, the executive assistant for former MP Gerald Keddy. The Liberal candidate is longtime area reporter and editor Vernon Oickle, while well-known environmentalist John Davis carries the NDP banner. Kathaleen Milan is running for the Greens.

• What's at stake in Queens-Shelburne? Read our riding profile