Pictou West byelection set for May 21

Voters in Pictou West will go to the polls May 21.

Elections Nova Scotia announced the date for the byelection on Sunday. Voters will choose a replacement for PC MLA Karla MacFarlane, who announced her retirement on April 5.

The deadline for candidate nominations is May 1.Early voting will be conducted by electronic ballot after the nomination deadline.

MacFarlanewas first elected in 2013. She was re-elected in 2017 and again in 2021, when the Tories formed government.

MacFarlane became Nova Scotia's first female Speaker of the House in 2023.

Marco MacLeodof Scotsburn will represent the PCs on the ballot. MacLeod is the only registered candidate thus far.