ST. PETER'S - More reliable internet service, local economic development and rebuilding Nova Scotia and its communities in the aftermath of COVID-19 were on the minds of a provincial party leader and his newest election candidate as they toured a local riding in late August.

Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Leader Tim Houston joined the party's newly-minted candidate for the riding of Richmond, Trevor Boudreau, on a whistle-stop tour of several communities around the county on August 22. The pair hit Arichat, Louisdale and Grande Anse before making their way to the St. Peter's Lions' Club Marina, where they engaged in a 20-minute interview with TELILE 24/7 host-producer Adam Cooke.

Boudreau, who served for just over seven years on Port Hawkesbury Town Council, is a native of Louisdale whose family recently moved back to Richmond County. He was acclaimed as the Richmond PC candidate in mid-August, and Houston is already impressed with the organization Boudreau is showing in his first crack at provincial politics. 

"He's got a great team behind him, and it's just been amazing to go around to the different communities today and see how the people gravitate to him," enthused Houston, drawing similar praise from his new Richmond candidate. 

"I'd say we've been courting for a couple of months - actually, close to a year now, just talking about my belief system and what I'm all about," Boudreau recalled. 

The Richmond constituency is currently held by Independent MLA Alana Paon, who was elected as a Progressive Conservative candidate in 2017. Houston ejected her from the PC caucus two years later for a variety of reasons, most of them related to an ongoing squabble between Paon and the Nova Scotia Speaker's Office about the MLA's failure to make her main constituency office in St. Peter's wheelchair-accessible. Paon has still not made a formal decision on whether she will re-offer in the next provincial election.