Bedford (provincial electoral district)

Bedford
Nova Scotia electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
LegislatureNova Scotia House of Assembly
District created1978
District abolished2021
Last contested2017
Demographics
Population (2011)27,783
Electors19,154
Area (km²)32.00
Census division(s)Halifax Regional Municipality

Bedford was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Kelly Regan.

The electoral district was created in 1978 as Bedford-Musquodoboit Valley from the redistribution of Halifax Cobequid. The name was changed to Bedford-Fall River in 1993 and the district lost the Musquodoboit Valley area to Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley.[1]

In 2003, the district was renamed Bedford. It lost the Fall River and Waverley areas and gained one third of Halifax Bedford Basin, as well as an area along the Hammonds Plains Road. It comprises most of Bedford and all of the community southeast of the Bicentennial Highway.[2]

The district is notable for the electoral loss of Liberal leader Francis MacKenzie, in the 2006 election. MacKenzie attempted to win the seat in 2006 for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. The party polled less than 24% across the province. He lost by more than 800 votes to Len Goucher.

On September 30, 2008 the name of the Bedford district was officially changed to Bedford-Birch Cove. With the 2012 electoral boundary changes, the area of Kearney Lake and Birch Cove moved to Clayton Park West and name of the district officially changed back to Bedford.[3]

In the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, the riding was abolished into Bedford South and Bedford Basin.

  1. ^ Riding History Archived 2017-08-23 at the Wayback Machine NS Legislature
  2. ^ Bedford - Constituency History Archived 2017-08-23 at the Wayback Machine Nova Scotia Legislature
  3. ^ Elections Nova Scotia, Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report (September 12, 2012) Archived January 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on March 11, 2013