# Cole Harbour (electoral district)

Cole Harbour is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
In 1978, Halifax Cobequid was divided into four separate ridings, one of which was named Cole Harbour. Upon the recommendations of the 1992 Electoral Boundaries Report, the riding was split into Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage and Dartmouth-Cole Harbour. The district of Cole Harbour was re-created in the 2003 redistribution and was composed of 78 percent of Dartmouth-Cole Harbour and 29 percent of Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage. In 2012, following the Electoral Boundaries Commission review, this district was renamed Cole Harbour-Portland Valley and it lost a portion of the Westphal area to Preston-Dartmouth and gained the area east of Bell Lake from Dartmouth East and the Portland Hills area from Dartmouth South-Portland Valley. Following the 2019 electoral boundary review, the riding reverted back to its former name of Cole Harbour, while losing territory to the new riding of Cole Harbour-Dartmouth, exchanging some territory with Preston-Dartmouth (re-named Preston) and gaining territory from Eastern Shore and Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.

## Geography

The land area of Cole Harbour is 14 km$^2$ (5.4 sq mi).

## Members of the Legislative Assembly

This riding has elected the following members of the Legislative Assembly:
Cole Harbour :
| Legislature | Years | Member | Party |
| Riding created from Halifax Eastern Shore |||||
| 52nd | 1978–1981 | David Nantes | Progressive Conservative |
| 53rd | 1981–1984 | David Nantes | Progressive Conservative |
| 54th | 1984–1988 | David Nantes | Progressive Conservative |
| 55th | 1988–1993 | David Nantes | Progressive Conservative |
| Riding dissolved into Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage and Dartmouth-Cole Harbour |||||
| Riding re-created from Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage and Dartmouth-Cole Harbour |||||
| 59th | 2003–2006 | Darrell Dexter | New Democratic |
| 60th | 2006–2009 | Darrell Dexter | New Democratic |
| 61st | 2009–2013 | Darrell Dexter | New Democratic |
| 62nd | 2013–2017 | Tony Ince | Liberal |
| 63rd | 2017–2021 | Tony Ince | Liberal |
| 64th | 2021–present | Tony Ince | Liberal |
| 65th | 2024–present | Leah Martin | Progressive Conservative |

## Election results
### 2024

vte2024 Nova Scotia general election :
| ** Preliminary results — Not yet official ** |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Leah Martin | 1,963 | 42.01 | +10.03 |
| | New Democratic | Alec Stratford | 1,753 | 37.51 | +10.66 |
| | Liberal | Tania Meloni | 886 | 18.96 | -20.79 |
| | Green | John E. McStay | 71 | 1.52 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 4,673 | 99.49 | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 24 | 0.52 | -0.03 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,697 | 46.77 | -6.13 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,043 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +15.41 |

### 2021

vte2021 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Tony Ince | 2,118 | 39.75 | +5.01 | $25,071.93 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Darryl Johnson | 1,704 | 31.98 | -0.64 | $25,039.43 |
| | New Democratic | Jerome Lagmay | 1,431 | 26.86 | -1.46 | $20,436.91 |
| | Atlantica | Chris Kinnie | 75 | 1.41 | | $200.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 5,328 | 99.46 | | $62,536.79 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 29 | 0.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,357 | 52.90 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 10,126 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +2.83 |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||

### 2017

2017 provincial election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| Liberal | 1,984 | 34.75 |
| Progressive Conservative | 1,863 | 32.63 |
| New Democratic | 1,617 | 28.32 |
| Green | 243 | 4.26 |
| Independent | 3 | 0.05 |
vte2017 Nova Scotia general election: Cole Harbour-Portland Valley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Tony Ince | 3,583 | 36.85 | -4.18 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Chris Mont | 3,203 | 32.94 | +14.80 |
| | New Democratic | Andre Cain | 2,552 | 26.25 | -14.57 |
| | Green | Melanie Mulrooney | 385 | 3.96 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 9,723 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 41 | 0.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,764 | 54.30 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 17,982 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -18.98 |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||

### 2013

2013 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Tony Ince | 4,002 | 41.03 | N/A |
| New Democratic Party | Darrell Dexter | 3,981 | 40.82 | N/A |
| Progressive Conservative | Greg Frampton | 1,769 | 18.14 | N/A |

### 2009

2009 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Darrell Dexter | 5,849 | 68.82% | 7.36% |
| | Liberal | Tony Ince | 1,509 | 17.76% | 2.22% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Mike Josey | 939 | 11.05% | -9.58% |
| | Green | Donna Toews | 202 | 2.38% | 0.00% |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,499 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. |||||||

### 2006

2006 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Darrell Dexter | 5,327 | 61.46% | 6.09% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Sheila McKeand | 1,788 | 20.63% | -5.93% |
| | Liberal | Stephen Beehan | 1,347 | 15.54% | -1.40% |
| | Green | Michael McFadden | 206 | 2.38% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,668 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. |||||||

### 2003

2003 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Darrell Dexter | 4,977 | 55.37% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative | Brian Thomas | 2,387 | 26.55% | – |
| | Liberal | Peter Foy | 1,523 | 16.94% | – |
| | Nova Scotia Party | Jessica Gould | 102 | 1.13% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,989 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. |||||||

### 1988

1988 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Nantes | 6,280 | 47.58% | -13.91% |
| | Liberal | Alan Mitchell | 4,892 | 37.06% | 18.28% |
| | New Democratic | Flora Christie | 2,027 | 15.36% | -4.37% |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,199 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. Nova Scotia. Chief Electoral Officer (1988). Returns of the General Election for the House of Assembly, Thirty-Second General Election (PDF). Queen's Printer. |||||||

### 1984

1984 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Nantes | 5,283 | 61.49% | 10.29% |
| | New Democratic | Les MacDougall | 1,695 | 19.73% | -4.29% |
| | Liberal | Dennis F. Cuvelier | 1,614 | 18.78% | -6.00% |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,592 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. Nova Scotia. Chief Electoral Officer (1984). Returns of the General Election for the House of Assembly, Thirty-First General Election (PDF). Queen's Printer. |||||||

### 1981

1981 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Nantes | 4,605 | 51.20% | -3.53% |
| | Liberal | Rae Austin | 2,229 | 24.78% | -10.81% |
| | New Democratic | Steve MacDonald | 2,160 | 24.02% | 14.33% |
| Total | Total | Total | 8,994 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. Nova Scotia. Chief Electoral Officer (1981). Returns of the General Election for the House of Assembly, Thirteith General Election (PDF). Queen's Printer. |||||||

### 1978

1978 Nova Scotia general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Nantes | 4,278 | 54.73% | – |
| | Liberal | Peter Sawler | 2,782 | 35.59% | – |
| | New Democratic | Daniel LaFitte | 757 | 9.68% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 7,817 | – |
| Source(s) Source: Nova Scotia Legislature (2021). "Electoral History for Cole Harbour" (PDF). nslegislature.ca. Nova Scotia. Chief Electoral Officer (1978). Returns of the General Election for the House of Assembly, Twenty-Ninth General Election (PDF). Queen's Printer. |||||||